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^^^  PRINCETON,  N.  J.  *^ 


Purchased   by  the   Hamill   Missionary  Fund. 


Division 
Section  ■ 


,I)5Z.Q.7 
.ZS.7 

copy  Z 


A  TYPICAL    ARAB    OF    YEMEN 


Arabia:  The  Cradle 
of  Islam 


Studies  in  the  Geography,  People  and 
Politics  of  the  Peninsula  with  an 
account  of  Islam  and  Mission-work 


UF    ^Hl^: 


BY 


REV.  S.  M.  ZWEMER,  F.R.G.S. 

INTRODUCTION   BY 

REV.   JAMES  S.  DENNIS,  D.D. 


New  York  Chicago  Toronto 

Fleming  H.  Revell    Company 

Publishers  of  Evangelical  Literature 


Copyright,  1900 

by 

FLEMING  H.  REVELL  COMPANY 


DEDICATED 

TO 

The  ''Student  Volunteers''  of  America 

IN   MEMORY   OF 

THE  TWO  AMERICAN  VOLUNTEERS  WHO  LAID  DOWN   THEIR 
LIVES  FOR  ARABIA 

PETER  J.  ZWEMER 

AND 

GEORGE  E.  STONE 


And  Jesus  said  unto  him :  This  day  is  salvation  come  to  this  house,  for- 
asmuch as  he  also  is  a  son  of  Abraham.  For  the  Son  of  Man  is  come  to 
seek  and  to  save  that  which  was  lost. — Luke  xix.  9,  10. 


Introductory  Note 

'T^HE  author  of  this  instructive  volume  is  in  the  direct  line 
-''  of  missionary  pioneers  to  tlie  Moslem  world.  He  fol- 
lows Raymond  Lull,  Henry  Martyn,  Ion  Keith-Falconer,  and 
Bishop  French,  and,  with  his  friend  and  comrade  the  Rev. 
James  Cantine,  now  stands  in  the  shining  line  of  succession  at 
the  close  of  a  decade  of  patient  and  brave  service  at  that 
lonely  outpost  on  the  shores  of  the  Persian  Gulf.  Others  have 
followed  in  their  footsteps,  until  the  Arabian  Mission,  the 
adopted  child  of  the  Reformed  Church  in  America,  is  at 
present  a  compact  and  resolute  group  of  men  and  women  at 
the  gates  of  Arabia,  waiting  on  God's  will,  and  intent  first  of 
all  upon  fulfilling  in  the  spirit  of  obedience  to  the  Master  the 
duty  assigned  them. 

These  ten  years  of  quiet,  unflinching  service  have  been  full 
of  prayer,  observation,  study,  and  wistful  survey  of  the  great 
task,  while  at  the  same  time  every  opportunity  has  been  im- 
proved to  gain  a  foothold,  to  plant  a  standard,  to  overcome  a 
prejudice,  to  sow  a  seed,  and  to  win  a  soul.  The  fruits  of  this 
intelligent  and  conscientious  effort  to  grasp  the  situation  and 
plan  the  campaign  are  given  to  us  in  this  valuable  study  of 
"Arabia,  the  Cradle  of  Islam."  It  is  a  missionary  contribu- 
tion to  our  knowledge  of  the  world.  The  author  is  entirely 
familiar  with  the  literature  of  his  subject.  English,  German, 
French,  and  Dutch  authorities  are  at  his  command.  The  less 
accessible  Arabic  authors  are  easily  within  his  reach,  and  he 
brings  from  those  mysterious  gardens  of  spices  into  his  clear, 
straightforward  narrative,  the  local  coloring  and  fragrance,  as 
well  as  the  indisputable  witness  of  original  medieval  sources. 
The  ethnological,  geographical,  archeological,  commercial,  and 

1 


2  INTRODUCTORY  NOTE 

political  information  of  the  descriptive  chapters  brings  to  our 
hands  a  valuable  and  readable  summary  of  facts,  in  a  form 
which  is  highly  useful,  and  will  be  sure  to  quicken  an  intelligent 
interest  in  one  of  the  great  religious  and  international  problems 
of  our  times. 

His  study  of  Islam  is  from  the  missionary  standpoint,  but 
this  does  not  necessarily  mean  that  it  is  unfair,  or  unhistorica), 
or  lacking  in  scholarly  acumen.  Purely  scientific  and  aca- 
demic study  of  an  ethnic  religion  is  one  method  of  approaching 
it.  It  can  thus  be  classified,  labelled,  and  put  upon  the  shelf  in 
the  historical  museum  of  the  world's  religions,  and  the  result 
has  a  value  which  none  will  dispute.  This,  however,  is  not  the 
only,  or  indeed  the  most  serviceable,  way  of  examining,  esti- 
mating and  passing  a  final  judgment  upon  a  religious  system. 
Such  study  must  be  comparative ;  it  must  have  some  standard 
of  value ;  it  must  not  discard  acknowledged  tests  of  excellence ; 
it  must  make  use  of  certain  measurements  of  capacity  and 
power ;  it  must  be  pursued  in  the  light  of  practical  ethics,  and 
be  in  harmony  with  the  great  fundamental  laws  of  religious  ex- 
perience and  spiritual  progress  which  have  controlled  thus  far 
the  regenerative  processes  of  human  development. 

The  missionary  in  forming  his  final  judgment  inevitably  com- 
pares the  religion  he  studies  with  the  religion  he  teaches.  He 
need  not  do  this  in  any  unkind,  or  bitter,  or  abusive  spirit. 
On  the  contrary,  he  may  do  it  with  a  supreme  desire  to  un- 
cover delusion,  and  make  clear  the  truth  as  it  has  been  given 
to  him  by  the  Great  Teacher.  He  may  make  a  generous  and 
sympathetic  allowance  for  the  influence  of  local  environment, 
he  may  trace  in  an  historic  spirit  the  natural  evolution  of  a 
religious  system,  he  may  give  all  due  credit  to  every  worthy 
element  and  every  pleasing  characteristic  therein,  he  may  re- 
gard its  symbols  with  respect,  and  also  with  all  charity  and  con- 
sideration the  leaders  and  guides  whom  the  people  reverence ; 
yet  his  own  judgment  may  still  be  inflexible,  his  own  allegiance 
unfaltering,  and  he  may  feel  it  to  be  his  duty  to  put  into  plain, 


INTRODUCTORY  NOTE  3 

direct,  and  vigorous  prose  his  irreversible  verdict  that  Chris- 
tianity being  true,  Islam  is  not,  Buddhism  is  not,  Hinduism  is 
not. 

There  he  stands ;  he  is  not  afraid  of  the  issue.  His  Master 
is  the  one  supreme  and  infallible  judge,  who  can  pronounce  an 
unerring  verdict  concerning  the  truth  of  any  religion.  He  has 
ventured  to  bear  witness  to  the  truth  which  his  Master  has 
taught  him.  Let  no  one  lightly  question  the  value  of  the  con- 
tribution he  makes  to  the  comparative  study  of  religion. 

The  spirit  in  which  our  author  has  written  of  Islam  is  marked 
by  fairness,  sobriety,  and  discrimination,  and  yet  there  is  no 
mistaking  the  verdict  of  one  who  speaks  with  an  authority 
which  is  based  upon  exceptional  opportunities  of  observation, 
close  study  of  literary  sources  and  moral  results,  and  undoubted 
honesty  of  purpose. 

It  may  not  be  out  of  place  to  note  the  hearty,  outspoken 
satisfaction  with  which  the  author  regards  the  extension  of 
British  authority  over  the  long  sweep  of  the  Arabian  coast  line. 
His  admiration  and  delight  can  only  be  fully  understood  by 
one  who  has  been  a  resident  in  the  East,  and  has  felt  the  blight 
of  Moslem  rule,  and  its  utter  hopelessness  as  an  instrument  of 
progress. 

Let  this  book  have  its  hour  of  quiet  opportunity,  and  it  will 
broaden  our  vision,  enlarge  our  knowledge,  and  deepen  our  in- 
terest in  themes  which  will  never  lose  their  hold  upon  the  at- 
tention of  thoughtful  men. 

James  S.  Dennis. 


Preface 


THERE  are  indications  that  Arabia  will  not  always  remain 
in  its  long  patriarchal  sleep  and  that  there  is  a  future  in 
store  for  the  Arab.  Politics,  civilization  and  missions  have  all 
begun  to  touch  the  hem  of  the  peninsula  and  it  seems  that  soon 
there  will  be  one  more  land — or  at  least  portions  of  it — to  add 
to  "the  white  man's  burden."  History  is  making  in  the  Per- 
sian Gulf,  and  Yemen  will  not  forever  remain,  a  tempting  prize, 
— untouched.  The  spiritual  burden  of  Arabia  is  the  Moham- 
medan religion  and  it  is  in  its  cradle  we  can  best  see  the  fruits 
of  Islam.  We  have  sought  to  trace  the  spiritual  as  well  as  the 
physical  geography  of  Arabia  by  showing  how  Islam  grew  out 
of  the  earlier  Judaism,  Sabeanism  and  Christianity. 

The  purpose  of  this  book  is  especially  to  call  attention  to 
Arabia  and  the  need  of  missionary  work  for  the  Arabs.  There 
is  no  dearth  of  literature  on  Arabia,  the  Arabs  and  Islam,  but 
most  of  the  books  on  Arabia  are  antiquated  or  inaccessible  to 
the  ordinary  reader ;  some  of  the  best  are  out  of  print.  The 
only  modern  work  in  English,  which  gives  a  general  idea  of 
the  whole  peninsula  is  Bayard  Taylor's  somewhat  juvenile 
"  Travels  vi  Arabia. ^^  In  German  there  is  the  scholarly  com- 
pilation of  Albrecht  Zehm,  "Arabic  und  die  Araber,  seit 
hundert jahrenj"  which  is  generally  accurate,  but  is  rather  dull 
reading  and  has  neither  illustrations  nor  maps.  From  the 
missionary  standpoint  there  are  no  books  on  Arabia  save  the 
biographies  of  Keith-Falconer,  Bishop  French  and  Kamil  Abd- 
ul-Messiah. 

This  fact  together  with  the  friends  of  the  author  urged  their 
united  plea  for  a  book  on  this  "Neglected  Peninsula,"  its  peo- 
ple, religion  and  missions.    We  have  written  from  a  missionary 

5 


6  PREFACE 

viewpoint,  so  that  the  book  has  certain  features  which  are  in- 
tended specially  for  those  who  are  interested  in  the  missionary- 
enterprise.  But  that  enterprise  has  now  so  large  a  place  in 
modern  thought  that  no  student  of  secular  history  can  afford 
to  remain  in  ignorance  of  its  movements. 

Some  of  the  chapters  are  necessarily  based  largely  on  the 
books  by  other  travellers,  but  if  any  object  to  quotation  marks, 
we  would  remind  them  that  Emerson's  writings  are  said  to 
contain  three  thousand  three  hundred  and  ninety  three  quota- 
tions from  eight  hundred  and  sixty-eight  individuals !  The 
material  for  the  book  was  collected  during  nine  years  of  resi- 
dence in  Arabia.  It  was  for  the  most  part  put  ifito  its  present 
form  at  Bahrein  during  the  summer  of  1899,  in  the  midst  of 
many  outside  duties  and  distractions. 

I  wish  especially  to  acknowledge  my  indebtedness  to  W.  A. 
Buchanan,  Esq.,  of  London,  who  gave  the  initiative  for  the 
preparation  of  this  volume  and  to  my  friend  Mr.  D.  L.  Pierson 
who  has  generously  undertaken  the  entire  oversight  of  its  pub- 
lication. 

The  system  for  the  spelling  of  Arabic  names  in  the  text  fol- 
lows in  general  that  of  the  Royal  Geographical  Society.  This 
system  consists,  in  brief,  in  three  rules  :  (i)  words  made  famil- 
iar by  long  usage  remain  unchanged ;  (2)  vowels  are  pronounced 
as  in  Italian  and  consonants  as  in  English ;  (3)  no  redundant 
letters  are  written  and  all  those  written  are  pronounced. 

We  send  these  chapters  on  their  errand,  and  hope  that  espe- 
cially the  later  ones  may  reach  the  hearts  of  the  Student  Volun- 
teers for  foreign  missions  to  whom  they  are  dedicated;  we 
pray  also  that  the  number  of  those  who  love  the  Arabs  and 
labor  for  their  enlightenment  and  redemption  may  increase. 

S.  M.  ZWEMER. 

Bahrein,  Arabia, 


Table  of  Contents 


PAGE 


The  Neglected  Peninsula  .  ;  .  .  .17 

Arabia  the  centre  of  Moslem  world — Its  boundaries — The  coast' 
— Physical  characteristics — Climate — Water-supply — Geology 
— The  Wadys — Mountains — Deserts. 

II 

The  Geographical  Divisions  of  Arabia  .  .  -25 

Natural  divisions — Provinces — Political  geography — Important 
flora  and  fauna — Population. 

Ill 

The  Holy  Land  of  Arabia — Mecca        .  .  .  .30 

Its  boundaries — Sacredness — European  travellers — Jiddah — Its 
bombardment — The  pilgrimage — Mecca — Its  location — Water- 
supply — Governor — The  Kaaba — The  Black  Stone — Zemzem 
— Duty  of  pilgrimage — The  pilgrims — The  day  of  sacrifice — 
The  certificate — Character  of  Meccans — Temporary  marriages 
— Superstitions — Mishkash — Schools  of  Mecca — Course  of 
study. 

'IV 

The  Holy  Land  of  Arabia — Medina     .  .  .  -45 

Taif — Heathen  idols — The  road  to  Medina — Sanctity  of  Medina 

— The  prophet's  mosque — Was  Mohammed  buried  there  ? — 

The  five  tombs — Prayer  for  Fatima — Living  on  the  pilgrims 

— Character  of  people — Yanbo — Importance  of  Mecca  to  Islam. 

V 
Aden  and  an  Inland  Journey      .  .  .  .  -53 

The  gateways  to  Arabia  Felix — Aden — Its  ancient  history — For- 
tifications— Tanks — Divisions — Population — Journey  inland — 
Wahat — The  vegetation  of  Yemen — A  Turkish  customhouse 
— The  storm  in  the  wady — Taiz — The  story  of  the  books. 

7 


8  TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

VI  PAGE 

Yemen  :  the  Switzerland  of  Arabia      .  .  .  .62 

The  Jews  of  Yemen — From  Taiz  to  Ibb  and  Yerim — Beauty 
of  scenery — Climate — Ali's  footprint — Damar — Sana — Com- 
merce and  manufactures — Roda — From  Sana  to  the  coast — 
The  terraces  of  Yemen — Suk-el  Khamis — Menakha — Bajil — 
Hodeidah. 

VII 

The  Unexplored  Regions  of  Hadramaut         .  .  •    72 

Von  Wrede's  travels — Halevy — Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bent's  journeys — 
Makalla — Incense-trade — The  castles  and  palaces — Shibam — 
Shehr  and  its  ruler — Hadramaut  and  the  Indian  archipelago. 

VIII 

Muscat  and  the  Coastlands  of  Oman  .  .  .  .78 

Boundaries  —  Population  —  Government  — Muscat — Heat — The 
forts — The  town — The  gardens — Trade — The  coast  of  Oman 
— The  pirate-coast — The  Batina — Sib,  Barka,  Sohar — From 
Muscat  to  Ras-el-Had — Sur — Carter's  exploration — The  Mah- 
rah  and  Gharah  tribes — Frankincense. 

IX 

The  Land  of  the  Camel  .  .  .  .  .  .88 

"  The  mother  of  the  camel " — Importance  of  the  camel  to  Arabia 
— Tradition  as  to  creation — Species — The  dromedary — An  il- 
lustration of  design — Products  of  the  camel — Characteristics — 
The  interior  of  Oman — Chief  authorities — Fertility — Caravan- 
routes — Peter  Zwemer's  journey — Jebel  Achdar. 

X 

The  Pearl  Islands  of  the  Gulf  .  .  .  -97 

Ancient  history  of  Bahrein — Origin  of  name — Population — 
Menamah — The  fresh-water  springs — The  pearl-fisheries — 
Superstitions  about  pearls — Value  and  export — Method  of  div- 
ing— Boats — Apparatus — Dangers  to  the  divers — Mother-of- 
pearl — Other  manufactures — Ruins  at  Ali — The  climate — Po- 
litical history — English  protection. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 


XI 


The  Eastern  Threshold  of  Arabia       .  .  .  .no 

The  province  of  Hassa — Katar — The  Route  inland — Ojeir — 
Journey  to  Hofhoof — The  two  curses  of  agriculture — The 
capital  of  Hassa — Plan  of  the  town — Its  manufactures — Curi- 
ous coinage — The  government  of  Hassa — Katif — Its  un- 
healthfulness. 

XII    > 
The  River-Country  and  the  Date- Palm  .  .  .119 

The  cradle  of  the  race — Boundaries  of  Mesopotamia — The 
Tigris-Euphrates — Meadow  lands — The  palms — Their  beauty 
—  Fruitfulness  —  Usefulness  —  Varieties  of  dates  — Value  — 
Other  products — Population — Provinces  and  districts — The 
government. 

XIII 
The  Cities  and  Villages  of  Turkish- Arabia   .  .  .128 

Kuweit — Fao — Aboo  Hassib — Busrah — The  river  navigation — 
A  journey — Kurna — Ezra's  tomb — Amara — The  tomb  of  the 
barber — The  arch  of  Ctesiphon — Bagdad,  past  and  present — 
Population — Trade — Kelleks. 

XIV 
A  Journey  Down  the  Euphrates  .  .  .  .136 

Journey  to  Hillah — The  route — Kerbela — Dowrn  the  Euphrates 
— Diwaniyeh — The  soldier-guard — Amphibious  Arabs — Sa- 
mawa — Ya  Ali,  Ya  Hassan  ! — Nasariya — Ur — The  end  of  our 
journey — The  future  of  Mesopotamia. 

XV 
The  Interior — Known  and  Unknown    ....  143 
What  it  includes — Its  four  divisions — (i)  "The  empty  quarter" 
— Ignorance  of  this  part  of  Arabia — (2)Nejran — The  Dauasir- 
valley  and  other  wadys — Halevy's  travels — Aflaj — The  Ro- 
man expedition  to  Nejran — (3)  Nejd — Its  proper  limits — The     "' 
zephyrs  of  Nejd — Soil — Vegetation — Animals — The  ostrich — 
The  horse — The   chief  authorities   on  this  part  of  Arabia — 
The  population  of  Nejd — The  character  of  government — In- 
tercourse with  Mesopotamia — Chief  cities — Hail — Riad — (4) 
Jebel    Shammar — The    Bedouin-tribes — Division — Character 
and  customs — Robbery — Universal  poverty. 


10  T/iBLE  OF  CONTENTS 

XVI  PAGE 

"The  Time  of  Ignorance"  .  .  .  .  .158 

Why  so-called — The  golden  age  of  literature — The  influence  of 
Christianity  and  Judaism — Tribal  constitution  of  society — 
Commerce — Incense — Foreign  invasions — Political  commotion 
— The  condition  of  women — Female  infanticide — The  veil — 
Rights  of  women — Marriage  choice — Polygamy  and  Polyan- 
dry— Two  kinds  of  marriage — Did  Islam  elevate  woman  ? — 
Writing  in  "  the  days  of  ignorance  " — Poetry — Mohammed's 
opinion  of  poets — The  religions — Sabeanism — The  Pantheon 
at  Mecca — Jinn — Totemism — Tattooing — Names  of  idols — 
Allah — Decay  of  idolatry — The  Hanifs. 

XVII 

Islam  in  its  Cradle — The  Moslem's  God         .  .  .169 

Different  views — Carlyle — Hugh  Broughton — Borrowed  ele- 
ments of  Islam — The  God  of  Islam — Palgrave's  portrait — At- 
tributes of  God — What  God  is  not — Analysis  of  Islam — Bor- 
rowed elements  of  Islam. 

XVIII 

The  Prophet  and  his  Book  .  .  .  .  .179 

The  prophet  of  Islam — Birth  of  Mohammed — His  environment — 
Factors  that  helped  to  make  the  man — Political,  religious  and 
family  factor — Khadijah — Mohammed's  appearance,  mind  and 
character — His  transgression  of  law — His  sensuality — His 
murders — Expeditions — Mohammed,  as  he  became  through 
tradition — His  glories,  favor  and  power  as  an  intercessor — 
How  Moslems  regard  the  Koran — Its  character  according  to 
Dr.  Post,  Goethe  and  Noldeke — Its  names — Contents — Origin 
— Recension — Its  beauties — Its  defects — Its  omissions. 

XIX 

The  Wahabi  Rulers  and  Reformers     .  .  .  .191 

The  story  of  past  century — The  Wahabis — Character  of  teaching 
— The  preacher  and  the  sword — Taking  of  Mecca  and  Me- 
dina— Kerbela — Mohammed  Ali — The  Hejaz  campaign — 
Ghalye — Turkish  cruelty — English  expedition — Peace — The 
Wahabi  dynasty — Abdullah  bin  Rashid — Rise  of  Nejd  kmg- 
dom — Character  of  rule — Hail  conquers  Riad. 


T/IBLE  OF  CONTENTS  11 

XX  PAGE 

The  Rulers  of  Oman         ......  202 

Oman  rulers — Seyid  Said — Feysul  bin  Turki — The  rebels  take 
Muscat — Arab  warfare — European  diplomacy. 

XXI 

The  Story  of  the  Turks  in  Arabia  ....  206 
Hejaz — The  Sherifs  of  Mecca — Othman  Pasha — Threats  to 
assassinate  him — Turkish  troops  in  Asir — Losses — The  con- 
quest of  Yemen — Turkish  rule — Rebellions — The  rebellion  of 
1892 — Bagdad,  Busrah  and  Hassa — Taxes — The  Turks  and 
Bedouins — The  army — Character  of  rule. 

XXII 

British  Influence  in  Arabia  .....  218 
British  possessions — Aden — Socotra — Perim — Kuria  Muria  islands 
— Bahrein — Her  naval  supremacy — In  the  Gulf — German 
testimony — Survey  of  coasts — Telegraph  and  posts — Slave- 
trade — Commerce — British  India  S.  N.  Co. — Gulf  trade — The 
rupee — Trade  of  Aden — Overland  railway — Treaties  with 
tribes — The  Trucial  League — England  in  Oman — Aden — 
Makalla — Method  of  "  protection  " — British  consuls  and 
agents. 

XXIII 

Present  Politics  in  Arabia  .....  233 

Hejaz — Future  of  Yemen — France  in  Oman — Russia  in  the  Gulf 
— The  Tigris-Euphrates  Valley — The  greater  kingdom — God's 
providence  in  history. 

XXIV 

The  Arabic  Language         ......  238 

Wide  extent — Its  character — Renan's  opinion — The  Semitic 
family — Their  original  home — The  two  theories — Table  of  the 
group — The  influence  of  the  Koran  on  the  Arabic  language — 
Koran  Arabic  not  pure — Origin  of  alphabet — Cufic — Ca- 
ligraphy  as  an  art — Difficulty  and  beauty  of  Arabic  speech — Its 
purity — Literature — Difficulty  of  pronunciation — Of  its  gram- 
mar— Keith  Falconer's  testimony. 


12  TJBLE  OF  CONTENTS 

XXV  PAGE 

The  Literature  OF  THE  Arabs       .  .  .  .  .251 

Division  of  its  literature — The  seven  poems — The  Koran — Al 
Hariri — Its  beauty  and  variety — Arabic  poetry  in  general — 
Influence  of  Arabic  and  other  languages — English  influence 
on  the  Arabic — The  Arabic  Bible  and  a  Christian  literature. 

XXVI 

The  Arab       .  .  .  .  .  .  .  .258 

Origin  of  tribes — Two  theories — Yemenite  and  Maadite — The 
caravan  routes — Bedouins  and  townsmen — Clark's  classification 
— Genealogies — Tribal  names — Character  of  Arabs- — Influence 
of  neighbors — Their  physique — Their  aristocracy — Intolerance 
— Speech — Oaths — Robbery — Privilege  of  sanctuary — Gener- 
osity— Blood-revenge — Childhood — Fireside  talk — Marriage 
among  Bedouins — Position  of  women — Four  witnesses — 
Doughty  —  Burckhardt  —  Lady  Ann  Blunt  —  Hurgronje — 
Woman  despised — The  kinds  of  dwelling — Tents  and  houses 
— Dress — The  staple  foods — Coffee,  tobacco  and  locusts. 

XXVII 

Arabian  Arts  and  Sciences  .....  274 

Music  of  the  Arabs — War  chants — Instruments  of  music — Songs 
— Kaseedahs  in  Yemen — Mecca  chants — Science  oi  Athar  and 
Wasm — Tracking  camels — Tribal  marks — Medical  knowledge 
of  the  Arabs  —  Diseases  —  Remedies  —  A  prescription  —  The 
Koran's  panacea — A  Mecca  M.  D. — Amulets — Superstitions. 

XXVIII 

The  Star- Worshippers  of  Mesopotamia   ....  285 
Where  they    live — Their  peculiar  religion — Their  language — 
Literature — A    prayer-meeting    of   the    Star   Worshippers — 
Strange    ceremonies — The    dogmas — Gnostic   ideas — Priest- 
hood— Baptisms — Babylonian  origin. 

XXIX 

Early  Christianity  in  Arabia       .....  300 
Pentecost — Paul's  journey — The  Arabs  and  the  Romans — Chris- 
tian  tribes   of    the    North — Mavia — Naaman's   edict — Chris- 
tianity in  Yemen — Character  of  Oriental  Christianity — The 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS  13 

PAGE 

Collyridians  —  Theophilus  —  Nejian  converts  —  Martyrs  — 
Abraha,  king  of  Yemen — Marching  to  Mecca — The  defeat — 
End  of  early  Christianity — The  record  of  the  rocks. 

XXX 

The  Dawn  of  Modern  Arabian  Missions  .  .  .314 

Raymond  Lull — Henry  Martyn — Why  the  Moslem  world  was 
neglected — Claudius  Buchanan's  sermon — The  Syrian  mis- 
sions— Doctor  Van  Dyck — His  Bible  translation — Henry 
Martyn,  the  pioneer — His  Arabian  assistant — Visit  to  Muscat — 
His  Arabic  version — Anthony  N.  Groves — Dr.  John  Wilson  of 
Bombay — The  Bible  Society — Opening  of  doors — Major-Gen- 
eral  Haig's  journeys — Arabia  open — Dr.  and  Mrs.  Harpur  and 
the  C.  M.  S. — A  call  to  prayer — Bagdad  occupied — The  pres- 
ent work — Missionary  journeys  to  the  Jews — William  Lethaby 
at  Kerak — The  North  Africa  mission  among  the  nomads — 
Samuel  Van  Tassel — The  Christian  Missionary  Alliance — 
Mackay's  appeal  from  Uganda — The  response. 

XXXI 

Ion  Keith  Falconer  and  the  Aden  Mission        .  .  '331 

Keith  Falconer's  character — Education — At  Cambridge — Mission 
work — His  "  eccentricity  " — Leipzig  and  Assiut — How  he 
came  to  go  to  Arabia — His  first  visit — Plans  for  the  interior — 
His  second  voyage  to  Aden — Dwelling — Illness — Death — 
The  influence  of  his  life — The  mission  at  Sheikh  Othman. 

XXXII 

Bishop  French  the  Veteran  Missionary  to  Muscat       .  .  344 

"  The  most  distinguished  of  all  C.  M.  S.  missionaries  " — Re-  / 

sponds  to  Mackay's  appeal — His  character — His  letters  from 
Muscat — His  plans  for  the  interior — Death — The  grave. 


L 


XXXIII 

The  American  Arabian  Mission  ..... 
Its  origin — The  student  band — The  first  plan— Laid  before  the 
church — Organization — The  Missionary  Hymn — James  Can- 
tine — Syria — Cairo — Aden — Kamil — Journeys  of  exploration 
to  the  Gulf  and  Sana — Busrah — Dr.  C.  E.  Riggs — Death  of 
Kamil — Opposition  from  government — Home  administration — 


353 


i 


14  TABLE  OF  CONTENTS 

Bahrein  occupied— Lines  of  work — Muscat — Journey  through 
Yemen — The  mission  transferred  to  the  Reformed  Church — 
Troubles  at  Muscat  and  Busrah — Dr.  Worrall — Journeys  in 
Oman — Scripture-sales — First-fruits — Reinforcements. 

XXXIV 
In  Memoriam  .......  367 

Peter  John  Zwemer — George  E.  Stone. 

XXXV 

Problems  of  the  Arabian  Field  .....  374 
The  general  problem  of  missions  to  Moslems — The  Arabian 
problem — What  part  of  Arabia  is  accessible — Turkish  Arabia 
— Its  accessibility — Limitations — The  accessibihty  of  inde- 
pendent Arabia — Climate — Moslem  fanaticism — English  in- 
fluence— Illiteracy — The  Bedouins — The  present  missionary 
force — Its  utter  inadequacy — Methods  of  work — Medical 
missions — Schools — Work  for  women — Colportage — Preach- 
ing— Controversy — What  should  be  its  character — The  atti- 
tude of  the  Moslem  mind — Fate  of  converts — Thoughtless  and 
thoughtful  Moslems — The  Bible  as  dynamite — The  right  men 
for  the  work. 

XXXVI 

The  Outlook  for  Missions  to  Moslems     .  .  .  .391 

Two  views  of  work  for  Moslems — Christian  fatalism — Results  in 
Moslem  lands — India — Persia — Constantinople — Sumatra  and 
Java — Other  signs  of  progress — The  significance  of  persecution 
— Character  of  converts — Promise  of  God  for  victory  over 
Islam — Christ  or  Mohammed — Missionary  promises  of  the 
Old  Testament — The  Rock  of  Jesus'  Sonship — Special  promises 
for  Arabia — Hagar  and  Ishmael — The  prayer  of  Abraham — 
The  sign  of  the  covenant  with  Ishmael — The  third  revelation 
of  God's  love — The  sons  of  Ishmael — Kedar  and  Nebaioth — 
The  promises — Seba  and  Sheba — The  spiritual  boundaries  of 
Arabia — Da  Costa's  poem — Faith  like  Abraham — O  that  Ish- 
mael might  live  before  thee. 

APPENDIX  I— Chronological  Table  ....  409 
"  II — Tribes  of  North  Arabia  .  .  -413 

"  III — An  Arabian  Bibliography         .  .  .  414 

INDEX 427 


List  of  Illustrations 


PAGE 

A  Typical  Arab  of  Yemen Frontispiece 

View  of  Mecca  and  the  Sacred  Mosque i 

The  Reputed  Tomb  of  Eve  at  jiddah j     '^""^    '7 

Mohammedan  Pilgrims  at  Mecca -, 

The  Sacred  Well  OF  Zemzem  at  Mecca /  ^° 

Pilgrims  around  the  Kaaba  in  the  Sacred  Mosque 

at  Mecca «        34 

The  Mecca  Certificate — A  Passport  to  Heaven  .    .  "40 

Christian  Coins  used  as  an  Amulet  by  Meccan  Women  43 

A  Woman  of  Mecca 1 

A  Meccan  Woman  in  her  Bridal  Costume /     '^""•^    44 

Travelling  in  Southern  Arabia -> 

The  Keith  Falconer  Memorial  Church  in  Aden  .    .  j        "        ^ 

An  Arabian  Compass 71 

A  Castle  in  Hadramaut 77 

The  Harbor  and  Castle  at  Muscat 1 

Ready  for  a  Camel  Ride  in  the  Desert /  racittg    80 

A  Branch  of  the  Incense  Tree 87 

Tenoof  from  the  East 95 

The  Village  of  Menamah,  Bahrein  Islands \ 

A  Bahrein  Harbor  Boat \  ^""^""S  10° 

A  Date  Orchard  near  Busrah -v 

Dates  Growing  on  a  Date-Palm j        "       '^^ 

The  Tomb  of  Ezra  on  the  Tigris  River 1 

Ruins  of  the  Arch  of  Ctesiphon  near  Bagdad   .    .    .  j        "      '^^ 

A  Public  Khan  in  Turkish-Arabia -. 

Arab  Pilgrims  on  Board  a  River  Steamer J        "       ^'*° 

Four  Flags  that  Rule  Arabia 217 

Cufic  Characters 243 

Modern  Copybook  Arabic -> 

Ordinary  Unvowelled  Arabic  Writing /  ^44 

Mogrebi  Arabic  of  North  Arabia 245 

15 


16  LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

Persian  Style  of  Writing 246 

Title  Page  of  an  Arabic  Christian  Paper 257 

Churning  Butter  in  a  Bedouin  Camp Facing  266 

Tribal  Marks  of  the  Arabs 279 

Manaitic  Cursive  Script 287 

Passage  from  the  Sacred  Book  of  the  Mand^ans  .  .  299 

Facsimile  Copy  of  the  Arabian  Missionary  Hymn  .  .  358 

The  Old  Mission  House  at  Busrah -> 

The  Kitchen  of  the  Old  Mission  House,  Busrah   .    .  /    '^'■"'^  3 

Four  Missionary  Martyrs  of  Arabia "       368 

The  Bible  Shop  at  Busrah 1 

Interior  of  a  Native  Shop j               ^4 

The  Rescued  Slave  Boys  at  Muscat -» 

The  Arabian  Mission  House  at  Muscat J       "      ^°° 

MAPS  AND  DIAGRAMS 

Ptolemy's  Ancient  Map  of  Arabia Facing'    25 

Ali  Bey's  Plan  of  the  Prophet's  Mosque  at  Mecca  .  "        36 

Plan  of  the  Interior  of  the  Hujrah  at  Medina  .    .  49 

Map  of  the  Islands  of  Bahrein 98 

Neibuhr's  Map  of  THE  Persian  Gulf Facing  no 

Palgrave's  Plan  OF  HoFHOOF 113 

Diagrams  of  Missionary  Work  for  Arabia 380,  381 

Modern  Map  OF  Arabia End  of  book. 


VIEW   OF   MECCA   AND   THE   SACRED   MOSQUE 


THE   REPUTED   TOMB    OF   EVE   AT   JIDDAH 


THE  NEGLECTED   PENINSULA 

*•  Intersected  by  sandy  deserts  and  vast  ranges  of  mountains  it  presents 
on  one  side  nothing  but  desolation  in  its  most  frightful  form,  while  the 
other  is  adorned  with  all  the  beauties  of  the  most  fertile  regions.  Such  is 
its  position  that  it  enjoys  at  once  all  the  advantages  of  hot  and  of  temperate 
climates.  The  peculiar  productions  of  regions  the  most  distant  from  one 
another  are  produced  here  in  equal  perfection.  What  Greek  and  Latin 
authors  mention  concerning  Arabia  proves  by  its  obscurity  their  ignorance 
of  almost  everything  respecting  the  Arabs.  Prejudices  relative  to  the  in- 
conveniences and  dangers  of  travelling  in  Arabia  have  hitherto  kept  the 
moderns  in  equal  ignorance." — M.  Niebuhr  (1792). 

TXTHAT  Jerusalem  and  Palestine  are  to  Christendom  this, 
and  vastly  more,  Mecca  and  Arabia  are  to  the  Moham- 
medan world.  Not  only  is  this  land  the  cradle  of  their  religion 
and  the  birthplace  of  their  prophet,  the  shrine  toward  which, 
for  centuries,  prayers  and  pilgrimage  have  gravitated ;  but 
Arabia  is  also,  according  to  universal  Moslem  tradition,  the 
original  home  of  Adam  after  the  fall  and  the  home  of  all  the 
older  patriarchs.  The  story  runs  that  when  the  primal  pair 
fell  from  their  estate  of  bliss  in  the  heavenly  paradise,  Adam 
landed  on  a  mountain  in  Ceylon  and  Eve  fell  at  Jiddah,  on  the 
western  coast  of  Arabia.  After  a  hundred  years  of  wandering 
they  met  near  Mecca,  and  here  Allah  constructed  for  them  a 
tabernacle,  on  the  site  of  the  present  Kaaba.  He  put  in  its 
foundation  the  famous  stone  once  whiter  than  snow,  but  since 
turned  black  by  the  sins  of  pilgrims  !  In  proof  of  these  state- 
ments travellers  are  shown  the  Black  stone  at  Mecca  and  the 
tomb  of  Eve  near  Jiddah.  Another  accepted  tradition  says  that 
Mecca  stands  on  a  spot  exactly  beneath  God's  throne  in  heaven. 
Without  reference  to  these  wild  traditions,  which  are  soberly 

17 


18  ARABIA,   THE  CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

set  down  as  facts  by  Moslem  historians,  Arabia  is  a  land  of 
perpetual  interest  to  the  geographer,  and  the  historian. 

Since  Niebuhr's  day  many  intrepid  travellers  have  surveyed 
the  coasts  and  penetrated  into  the  interior,  but  his  charge  that 
we  are  ignorant  of  the  real  character  of  the  vast  peninsula  is 
still  true  as  far  as  it  relates  to  the  southern  and  southeastern 
districts.  No  traveller  has  yet  crossed  the  northern  boundary 
of  Hadramaut  and  explored  the  Dahna  desert,  also  called  the 
Roba-el-Khali,  or  "empty  abode."  The  vast  territory  be- 
tween the  peninsula  of  Katar  and  the  mountains  of  Oman  is  also 
practically  a  blank  on  the  best  maps.  Indeed  the  only  note- 
worthy map  of  that  portion  of  the  peninsula  is  that  of  Ptolemy 
reproduced  by  Sprenger  in  his  "  Alte  Geographie  Arabiens." 

Arabia  has  well-defined  boundaries  everywhere  except  on  the 
north.  Eastward  are  the  waters  of  the  Persian  Gulf,  the  Strait 
of  Ormuz  and  the  Gulf  of  Oman.  The  entire  southern  coast  is 
washed  by  the  Indian  Ocean  which  reaches  to  Bab-el-Mandeb 
"The  Gate-of-tears, "  from  which  point  the  Red  Sea  and  the 
Gulf  of  Akaba  form  the  western  boundary.  The  undefined 
northern  desert,  in  some  places  a  sea  of  sand,  completes  the 
isolation  which  has  led  the  Arabs  themselves  to  call  the 
peninsula  their  "  Island  "  (Jezirat-el-Arab).  In  fact  the  north- 
ern boundary  will  probably  never  be  defined  accurately.  The 
so-called  "Syrian  desert,"  reaching  to  about  the  thirty-fifth 
parallel  might  better  be  regarded  as  the  Arabian  desert,  for  in 
physical  and  ethnical  features  it  bears  much  greater  resemblance 
to  the  southern  peninsula  than  to  the  surrounding  regions  of 
Syria  and  Mesopotamia.  Bagdad  is  properly  an  Arabian  city 
and  to  the  Arabs  of  the  north  is  as  much  a  part  of  the  peninsula 
as  is  Aden  to  those  of  the  southwest.  The  true,  though  shift- 
ing, northern  boundary  of  Arabia  would  be  the  limit  of  Nomad 
encampments,  but  for  convenience  and  practical  purposes  a 
boundary  line  may  be  drawn  from  the  Mediterranean  along  the 
thirty-third  parallel  to  Busrah. 

Thus  the  shores  of  Arabia  stretch  from  Suez  to  the  Euphrates 


THE  NEGLECTED  PENINSULA  19 

delta  for  a  total  length  of  nearly  4,000  n^iles.  This  coast- 
line has  comparatively  few  islands  or  inlets,  except  in  the 
Persian  Gulf.  The  Red  Sea  coast  is  fringed  by  extensive  coral 
reefs,  dangerous  to  navigation,  but  from  Aden  to  Muscat  the 
coast  is  elevated  and  rocky,  and  contains  several  good  harbors. 
Eastern  Arabia  has  a  low,  flat  coast-line  made  of  coral-rock 
with  here  and  there  volcanic  headlands.  Farsan,  off  the 
Tehamah  coast,  famous  as  the  centre  for  Arab  slave-dhows ; 
Perim,  where  English  batteries  command  the  gate  of  the  Red 
Sea;  the  Kuria-Muria  group  in  the  Indian  Ocean;  and  the 
Bahrein  archipelago  in  the  Persian  Gulf,  are  the  only  impor- 
tant islands.  Socotra,  although  occupied  by  an  Arab  popula- 
tion and  historically  Arabian,  is  by  geographers  generally  at- 
tached to  Africa,  This  island  is  however  under  the  Indian 
government,  and,  once  Christian,  is  now  wholly  Mohammedan. 

The  greatest  length  of  the  peninsula  is  about  1,000  miles, 
its  average  breadth  600,  and  its  area  somewhat  over  1,000,000 
square  miles.  It  is  thus  over  four  times  the  size  of  France  or 
larger  than  the  United  States  east  of  the  Mississippi  River. 

Arabia,  until  quite  recently,  has  generally  been  regarded  as 
a  vast  expanse  of  sandy  desert.  Recent  explorations  have 
proved  this  idea  quite  incorrect,  and  a  large  part  of  the  region 
still  considered  desert  is  as  yet  unexplored.  Palgrave,  in  his 
"  Central  Arabia"  gives  an  excellent  summary  of  the  physical 
characteristics  of  the  whole  peninsula  as  he  saw  it.  Since  his 
time  Hadramaut  has  been  partially  explored  and  the  result  con- 
firms his  statements  :  "  The  general  type  of  Arabia  is  that  of 
a  central  table-land  surrounded  by  a  desert  ring  sandy  to  the 
south,  west  and  east,  stony  to  the  north.  This  outlying  circle 
is  in  its  turn  girt  bya  line  of  mountains  low  and  sterile  for  the 
most,  but  attaining  in  Yemen  and  Oman  considerable  height, 
breadth  and  fertility ;  while  beyond  these  a  narrow  rim  of 
coast  is  bordered  by  the  sea.  The  surface  of  the  midmost 
table-land  equals  somewhat  less  than  one-half  of  the  entire 
peninsula;    and   its   special  demarkations  are  much  affected, 


20  /IRABIA,   THE  CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

nay  often  absolutely  fixed,  by  the  windings  and  inrunnings  of  the 
Nefud  (sandy  desert).  If  to  these  central  highlands  or  Nejd, 
taking  that  word  in  its  wider  sense,  we  add  whatever  spots  of 
fertility  belong  to  the  outer  circles,  we  shall  find  that  Arabia 
contains  about  two-thirds  of  cultivated  or  at  least  of  cultivata- 
ble  land,  with  a  remaining  third  of  irreclaimable  desert,  chiefly 
on  the  south." 

From  this  description  it  is  evident  that  the  least  attractive 
part  of  the  country  is  the  coast.  This  may  be  the  reason  that 
Arabia  has  been  so  harshly  judged,  as  to  climate  and  soil  and 
so  much  neglected  by  those  who  only  knew  of  it  from  the  cap- 
tains who  had  touched  its  coast  in  the  Red  Sea  and  the  Per- 
sian Gulf.  Nothing  is  more  surprising,  than  to  pass  through 
the  barren  cinder  gateway  of  Aden  up  the  mountain  passes 
into  the  marvellous  fertility  and  delightful  climate  of  Yemen. 
Arabia  like  the  Arab,  has  a  rough,  frowning  exterior  but  a 
warm,  hospitable  heart. 

From  the  table-land  of  Nejd,  which  has  an  average  elevation 
of  about  3,000  feet  above  the  sea,  there  is  a  gradual  ascent 
southward  to  the  highlands  of  Yemen  and  Oman  where  there 
are  mountain  peaks  as  high  as  8,000  and  10,000  feet.  This 
diversity  of  surface  causes  an  equal  diversity  of  climate.  The 
prevailing  conditions  are  intense  heat  and  dryness,  and  the 
world-zone  of  maximum  heat  in  July  embraces  nearly  the  en- 
tire peninsula.  On  the  coast  the  heat  is  more  trying  because 
of  the  moisture  from  the  enormous  evaporation  of  the  land- 
locked basins.  During  part  of  the  summer  there  is  scarcely 
any  difference  in  the  register  of  the  wet-and  dry-bulb  ther- 
mometer. In  the  months  of  June,  July  and  August,  1S97,  the 
averages  of  maximum  temperature  at  Busrah  were  100°,  103)^° 
and  102°  F. ;  and  the  minimum  84°,  86^^°  and  84°  F.  Nejd 
has  a  salubrious  climate,  while  in  Yemen  and  Oman  on  the 
highlands  the  mercury  even  in  July  seldom  rises  above  85°. 
In  July,  1892,  I  passed  in  one  day's  journey  from  a  shade  tem- 
perature of  110°  F.  on  the  coast  at  Hodeidah  to  one  of  55°  at 


THE  NEGLECTED  PENINSULA  21 

Menakha  on  the  mountains.  At  Sanaa  there  is  frost  for  three 
months  in  the  year,  and  Jebel  Tobeyk  in  northwest  Arabia  is 
covered  with  snow  all  winter.  In  fact,  all  northern  Arabia 
has  a  winter  season  with  cold  rains  and  occasional  frosts. 

The  geology  of  the  peninsula  is  of  true  Arabian  simplicity. 
According  to  Doughty  it  consists  of  a  foundation  stock  of  plu- 
tonic  (igneous)  rock  whereon  lie  sandstone,  and  above  that 
limestone.  Going  from  Moab  to  Sinai  we  cross  the  strata  in 
the  reverse  order,  while  in  the  depression  of  the  gulf  of  Akaba 
the  three  strata  are  in  regular  order  although  again  overtopped 
by  the  granite  of  the  mountains.  Fossils  are  very  rare,  but 
coral  formation  is  common  all  along  the  coast.  Volcanic  for- 
mations and  lava  (called  by  the  Arabs,  harrat)  crop  out  fre- 
quently, as  in  the  region  of  Medina  and  Khaibar.  In  going 
by  direct  route  from  the  Red  Sea  (Jiddah)  to  Busrah,  we  meet 
first  granite  and  trap-rock,  overtopped  in  the  Harrat  el-Kisshub 
by  lavas,  and  further  on  at  Wady  Gerir  and  Jebel  Shear  by 
basalts;  at  the  Nefud  el  Kasim  (Boreyda)  sandstones  begin 
until  we  reach  the  limestone  region  of  Jebel  Toweyk.  Thence 
all  is  gravel  and  sand  to  the  Euphrates. 

Arabia  has  no  rivers  and  none  of  its  mountain  streams  (some 
of  which  are  perennial)  reach  the  seacoast.  At  least  they  do 
not  arrive  there  by  the  overland  route,  for  it  is  a  well-estab- 
lished fact  that  the  many  fresh  water  springs  found  in  the 
Bahrein  archipelago  have  their  origin  in  the  uplands  of  Arabia. 
At  Muscat,  too,  water  is  always  flowing  toward  the  sea  in 
abundance  at  the  depth  of  ten  to  thirty  feet  below  the  wady- 
bed ;  this  supplies  excellent  well-water.  In  fact  the  entire 
region  of  Hasa  is  full  of  underground  water-courses  and  per- 
ennial springs.  Coast-streams  are  frequent  in  Yemen  during 
the  rain-season  and  often  become  suddenly  full  to  overflowing 
dashing  everything  before  them.  They  are  called  sayl,  and 
well  illustrate  Christ's  parable  of  the  flood  which  demolished 
the  house  built  upon  the  sand. 

The  great  wadys  of  Arabia  are  its    characteristic   feature, 


22  ARABIA,   THE  CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

celebrated  since  the  days  of  Job,  the  Arab.  These  wadys, 
often  full  to  the  brim  in  winter  and  black  by  reason  of  frost 
but  entirely  dried  up  during  the  heat  of  summer,  would  never 
be  suspected  of  giving  nourishment  to  even  a  blade  of  grass. 
They  are  generally  dry  for  nine  and  ten  months  in  the  year, 
during  which  time  water  is  obtained  from  wells  sunk  in  the 
wady-bed.  Wady  Sirhan  runs  in  a  southeasterly  direction 
from  the  Hauran  highlands  to  the  Jauf  district  on  the  edge  of 
the  great  Nefud ;  it  is  fed  by  the  smaller  Wady  er-Rajel. 
Wady  Dauasir  which  receives  the  Nejran  streams  drains  all 
of  the  Asir  and  southern  Hejaz  highlands  northward  to  Bahr 
Salumeh,  a  small  lake,  the  only  one  known  in  the  whole  pen- 
insula. The  Aftan  is  another  important  wady  running  from 
the  borders  of  Nejd  into  the  Persian  Gulf,  This  wady-bed  is 
marked  on  some  maps  as  a  river,  flowing  into  the  Persian  Gulf 
apparently  by  two  mouths.  It  does  not  exist  to-day.  The 
most  important  water-bed  in  Arabia  is  the  celebrated  Wady  er- 
Ruma,  only  partly  explored,  which  flows  from  Hejaz  across 
the  peninsula  for  nearly  800  miles  in  a  northwesterly  direction 
toward  the  Euphrates.  Were  there  a  more  abundant  rainfall 
this  wady  would  reach  the  Shat-el-Arab  and  give  unity  to  the 
now  disjointed  water-system  of  Mesopotamia  and  north  Ara- 
bia.^ For  obvious  reasons  the  caravan  routes  of  Arabia 
generally  follow  the  course  of  the  wadys. 

Arabia  is  also  a  land  of  mountains   and   highlands.      The 

■  May  not  this  wady  have  been  once  a  noble  stream  perhaps,  as  Glaser 
conjectures,  the  fourth  of  the  Paradise  rivers  ?  (Gen  ii.  10-14.)  Upon  the 
question  as  to  vi'here  the  ancient  Semites  located  Paradise  Glaser  says  that 
it  was  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  confluence  of  the  Euphrates  and  Tigris, 
on  the  Arabian  side.  There  the  sacred  palm  of  the  city  of  Eridu  grew;  there 
according  to  the  view  of  the  ancient  Arabs  the  two  larger  wadys  of  Cen- 
tral Arabia  opened.  The  one  is  the  Wady  er-Ruma  or  the  Gaihan  ;  and 
the  other  is  the  Wady  ed-Dauasir,  a  side  wady  of  which  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Hamdani  still  bears  the  name  of  Faishan  (Pishon). — See  "  Re- 
cent Research  in  Bible  Lands,"  by  H.  V.  Hilprecht,  (Philadelphia,  1897). 
See  also  The  Sunday-School  Times,  Vol.  XXXIII.,  No.  49, 


THE  NEGLECTED  PENINSULA  23 

most  dearly  developed  system  is  the  extensive  range  skirting 
the  Red  Sea  at  a  distance  of  from  one  to  three  days'  journey 
from  the  coast.  South  of  Mecca  there  are  peaks  of  over  8,000 
feet ;  and  beyond,  the  range  broadens  out  to  form  the  Yemen 
highlands,  a  corner  of  the  peninsula  worthy  of  its  old  name 
"Arabia  Felix."  The  mountains  along  the  south  coast  are 
more  irregular  and  disconnected  until  they  broaden  out  a  sec- 
ond time  between  Ras  el  Had  and  Ras  Mussendum  to  form  the 
highlands  of  Oman.  Along  the  gulf  coast  there  are  no  moun- 
tains except  an  occasional  volcanic  hill  like  Jebel  Dokhan  in 
Bahrein  and  Jebel  Sanam  near  Zobeir. 

The  Nejd  is  crossed  by  several  ridges  of  which  the  best 
known  is  Jebel  Shammar  running  nearly  east  and  west  at  an 
altitude  of  about  6,000  feet.  Jebel  Menakib,  Jebel  Aared, 
Jebel  Toweyk  and  Jebel  Athal  are  other  ranges  south  of  Jebel 
Shammar  and  also  running  in  a  similar  direction  toward  the 
southwest  and  northeast.  The  Sinai  peninsula  is  a  rocky  lime- 
stone plateau  intersected  by  rugged  gorges  and  highest  toward 
the  south  in  the  region  of  Sinai  proper. 

Next  to  its  wadys  and  mountains  Arabia  is  characterized 
chiefly  by  the  so-called  Harrat  or  volcanic  tracks  already 
mentioned.  These  black,  gloomy,  barren  regions  occupy  a 
much  wider  extent  of  north  Arabia  than  is  generally  supposed. 
The  largest  is  Harrat  Khaibar,  north  of  Medina,  the  old  cen- 
tre of  the  Jews  in  the  days  of  Mohammed.  It  is  over  100 
miles  in  length  and  in  some  parts  thirty  miles  wide.  A  wil- 
derness of  lava  and  lava-stones  with  many  extinct  crater  heads, 
craggy,  and  strewn  with  rough  blocks  of  basalt  and  other  igne- 
ous rocks.  In  some  places  the  lava  beds  are  600  feet  deep. 
Signs  of  volcanic  action  are  still  seen  at  Khaibar,  smoke  issuing 
from  crevices  and  steam  from  the  summit  of  Jebel  Ethnan. 
A  volcanic  eruption  was  seen  at  Medina  as  late  as  1256  a.  d.* 
and  the  hot  and  sulphur  springs  of  Hasa  and  Hadramaut  seem 
to  indicate  present  volcanic  action. 

•  Samhudi's  History  of  Medina.     (Arabic  text  p.  40,  sqq.) 


24  ARABU,    THE   CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

The  sandy-tracts  of  the  so-called  Arabian  deserts  are  termed 
by  the  Arabs  themselves  nefud  (drained,  exhausted,  spent), 
the  name  given  on  most  maps.  The  general  physical  features 
of  this  "desert"  are  those  of  a  plain  clothed  with  stunted, 
aromatic  shrubs  of  many  varieties,  but  their  value  as  pasture  is 
very  unequal,  some  being  excellent  for  camels  and  sheep,  others 
absolutely  worthless.  Some  nefuds  abound  in  grasses  and 
flowering  plants  after  the  early  rains,  and  then  the  desert 
"blossoms  like  the  rose."  Others  are  without  rain  and 
barren  all  year ;  they  are  covered  with  long  stretches  of  drift- 
sand,  carried  about  by  the  wind  and  tossed  in  billows  on  the 
weather  side  of  the  rocks  and  bushes.^  Palgrave  asserts  that 
some  of  the  nefud  sands  are  600  feet  deep.  They  prevail  in 
the  vast  unexplored  region  south  of  Nejd  and  north  of  Hadra- 
maut  including  the  so-called  "Great  Arabian  Desert."  Abso- 
lute sterility  is  the  dominant  feature  here,  whereas  the  northern 
nefuds  are  the  pasture  lands  for  thousands  of  horses  and  sheep. 

'These  wastes  are  also  termed  Dakhna,  Ahkaf,  and  /I'awa'a' according 
to  the  greater  or  less  depth  or  shifting  nature  of  the  sands  or  the  more 
or  less  compact  character  of  the  soil. 


II 

THE   GEOGRAPHICAL   DIVISIONS   OF   ARABIA 

'  I  "*HE  division  of  Arabia  into  provinces  has  always  been 
■*■  rather  according  to  physical  geography  than  political 
boundaries.  The  earliest  division  of  the  peninsula,  and  in 
some  respects  the  most  correct,  was  that  of  the  Greek  and  Ro- 
man writers  into  Arabia  Deserta  and  Arabia  Felix.  The  lat- 
ter epithet  was  perhaps  only  a  mistaken  translation  of  El-  Ye- 
me?i — the  land  on  "the  right  hand,"  that  is  south  of  Mecca,  for 
the  Orientals  face  east.  This  is  contrasted  with  Syria  which 
in  Arabic  is  called  "  Es-Shain  "  or  the  land  "to  the  left"  of 
Mecca.  The  third  division,  Arabia  Petrcea,  or  "  Stony  Ara- 
bia," first  appears  in  Ptolemy  and  is  applied  to  the  Sinai  dis- 
trict. He  limits  Arabia  Deserta  to  the  extreme  northern  desert 
and  so  his  map  of  the  entire  peninsula  bears  the  title  of  Arabia 
Felix.  The  great  geographer  anticipated  all  modern  maps  of 
Arabia  by  naming  the  regions  according  to  the  tribes  that  in- 
habit them ;  a  much  more  intelligent  method  than  the  drawing 
of  artificial  lines  around  natural  features  and  dubbing  them 
with  a  name  to  suit  the  cartographer. 

The  Arab  geographers  know  nothing  of  this  threefold  divi- 
sion into  sandy,  stony,  and  happy-land.  They  divide  the 
Island-of-the-Arabs  (Jezirat-el-Arab)  into  five  provinces.'  The 
first  is  called  El-Yetnen  and  includes  Hadramaut,  Mehrah, 
Oman,  Shehr,  and  Nejran.  The  second  El-Hejaz,  on  the 
west  coast,  so  called  because  it  is  the  barrier  between  Tehama 
and  Nejd ;  it  nearly  corresponds  to  our  Hejaz,  excluding  its 

> "  Kitab  Sinajet-el-Tarb  "  by  Nofel  Effendi  (Beirut  1890).  The  author 
follows  the  older  Ara-bic  authorities. 

25 


26  ARABIA,    THE   CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

southern  portion.  The  third  is  Tehama,  along  the  coast, 
between  Yemen  and  Hejaz.  The  fourth  is  Nejd,  a  term 
loosely  applied  to  all  the  interior  table-lands.  The  fifth  is 
called  Yemama  or  'Ariidh  because  it  extends  all  the  "wide" 
way  between  Yemen  (Oman)  and  Nejd.  It  is  important  to 
distinguish  between  this  Arabian  division  and  that  now  nearly 
everywhere  adopted  on  the  maps  of  the  Occident ;  much  con- 
fusion has  arisen  when  this  distinction  was  not  made. 

The  modern  division  of  the  peninsula  into  seven  provinces  : 
Hejaz,  Yemen,  Hadramaut,  Oman,  Hasa,  Irak  and  Nejd,  is 
according  to  political  geography  and  serves  all  practical  pur- 
poses, although  it  is  not  strictly  accurate.  Hejaz,  the  Holy- 
land  of  Arabia,  includes  the  sacred  cities  of  Mecca  and  Me- 
dina. Yemen  is  bounded  by  the  line  of  fertility  on  the  north 
and  east  so  as  to  include  the  important  region  of  Asir.  Ha- 
dramaut has  no  clearly  defined  boundaries  and  stretches  north- 
ward to  the  unknown  region  of  the  Dahna.  Oman  is  the 
peninsula  between  the  southern  shore  of  the  Gulf  and  the 
Indian  Ocean,  while  Hasa  covers  the  entire  coast  district 
north  of  El-Katar  peninsula  (on  some  maps  called  El-Bahrein). 
Irak-Arabi  or  Irak  is  the  northern  river-country  politically  cor- 
responding to  what  is  called  "  Turkish- Arabia. " 

As  to  the  present  division  of  political  power  in  Arabia,  it  is 
sufficient  here  to  note  that  the  Sinai  peninsula  and  200  miles 
of  coast  south  of  the  Gulf  of  Akaba  is  Egyptian;  Hejaz, 
Yemen  and  Hasa  are  nominally  Turkish  provinces,  but  their 
political  boundaries  are  shifting  and  uncertain.  The  present 
Shereef  of  Mecca  at  times  dictates  to  the  Sublime  Porte  while 
the  Bedouin  tribes  even  in  Hejaz  acknowledge  neither  Sultan 
nor  Shereef  and  waylay  the  pilgrim  caravans  that  come  to  the 
holy  cities  unless  they  receive  large  blackmail.  In  Yemen  the 
Arabs  have  never  ceased  to  fret  under  the  galling  yoke  of  the 
Turk  since  it  was  put  on  their  shoulders  by  the  capture  of 
Sana  in  1873.  The  insurrection  in  1892  was  nearly  a  revolu- 
tion and  again  this  year  (1899)  all  Yemen  is  in  arms.     It  i§ 


THE   GEOGRAPHICAL  DIVISIONS  OF  ARABIA  27 

very  suggestive  that  in  the  present  revolt  some  of  the  Arabs 
made  use  of  the  Enghsh  flag  to  secure  sympathy. 

In  Hasa,  the  real  sovereignty  of  Turkey  only  exists  in  three 
or  four  towns  while  all  the  Bedouin  and  many  of  the  villagers 
yield  to  the  Dowla,  neither  tribute,  obedience  nor  love.  Irak 
alone  is  actually  Turkish  and  yields  large  revenue.  But  even 
here  Arab-uprisings  are  frequent.  Nominally,  however,  Tur- 
key holds  the  fairest  province  on  the  south,  the  religious 
centres  on  the  west  and  the  fertile  northeast  of  Arabia, — one- 
fifth  of  the  total  area  of  the  peninsula. 

The  remainder  of  Arabia  is  independent  of  Turkey.  Petty 
rulers  calling  themselves  Sultans,  Ameers  or  Imams  have  for 
centuries  divided  the  land  between  them.  The  Sultanate  of 
Oman  and  the  great  Nejd-kingdom  are  the  only  important 
governments,  but  the  former  lost  its  glory  when  its  seat  of 
power  and  influence  was  transferred  to  Zanzibar.  Nejd  in  its 
widest  sense  is  governed  to-day  by  Abd-el-Aziz  bin  Mitaab  the 
nephew  of  the  late  Mohammed  bin  Rashid,  King  Richard  of 
Arabia,  who  gained  his  throne  by  the  massacre  of  seventeen 
possible  pretenders.  The  territory  of  this  potentate  is  bor- 
dered southward  by  Riad  and  the  Wahabi  country.  North- 
ward his  influence  extends  beyond  the  Nefud,  right  away  to 
the  Oases  of  Kaf  and  Ittery  in  the  Wady  Sirhan  (38°  E. 
Long.,  31°  N.  Lat.)  east  of  the  Dead  Sea.  The  inhabitants  of 
these  oases  acknowledge  Abd-el-Aziz  as  their  suzerain  paying 
him  a  yearly  tribute  of  four  pounds  ($20.00)  for  each  village. 
The  people  of  the  intervening  district  of  Jauf  also  acknowl- 
edge his  rule  which  reaches  westward  to  Teima.  He  also 
commands  the  new  pilgrim-route  from  the  northeast  which 
formerly  passed  through  Riad  but  now  touches  Hail,  the  capi- 
tal of  Nejd.  The  Wahabi  movement  has  collapsed  and  their 
political  power  is  broken,  although  their  influence  has  extended 
to  the  furthest  confines  of  Arabia. 

The  only  foreign  power  dominant  in  Arabia,  beside  Turkey, 
is  England.     Aden  became  a  British  possession  in  1838  and 


28  /iR/IBI/l,   THE  CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

since  then  British  influence  has  extended  until  it  now  embraces 
a  district  200  miles  long  by  forty  broad  and  a  population  of 
130,000.  The  Island  of  Perim  in  the  Strait  of  Bab-el-Mandeb, 
the  Kuria-Muria  Islands  on  the  south  coast,  and  Socotra  are 
also  English.  All  the  independent  tribes  on  the  coast  from 
Aden  to  Muscat  and  from  Muscat  to  Bahrein  have  made  ex- 
clusive treaties  with  Great  Britian,  are  subsidized  by  annual 
payments  or  presents  and  are  "protected."  Muscat  and 
Bahrein  are  in  a  special  sense  protected  states  since  England's 
settled  policy  is  to  have  sole  dominion  in  the  Persian  Gulf. 
She  has  agencies  or  consulates  everywhere ;  the  postal  system 
of  the  Persian  Gulf  is  British  ;  the  rupee  has  driven  the  piastre 
out  of  the  market  and  as  ninety-eight  per  cent,  of  the  com- 
merce is  in  English  hands  the  Persian  Gulf  may  yet  become  an 
English  lake. 

Arabia  has  no  railroads,  but  regular  caravan  routes  take  their 
place  in  every  direction.  Turkish  telegraph  service  exists  be- 
tween Mecca  and  Jiddah  in  Hejaz ;  between  Sanaa,  Hodeidah 
and  Taiz  in  Yemen ;  and  along  the  Tigris-Euphrates  between 
Bagdad  and  Busrah  connecting  at  Fao  (at  the  delta)  with  the 
submarine  cable  to  Bushire  and  India. 

Of  the  fauna  and  flora  of  Arabia  we  will  not  here  speak  at 
length.  The  most  characteristic  plants  are  the  date-palm  of 
which  over  100  varieties  are  catalogued  by  the  Arab  peas- 
antry, and  which  yields  a  staple  food.  Coffee,  aromatic  and 
medicinal  plants,  gums  and  balsams,  have  for  ages  supplied 
the  markets  of  the  world.  Yemen  is  characterized  by  tropical 
luxuriance,  and  in  Nejd  is  the  ghatha  tree  which  grows  to  a 
height  of  fifteen  feet,  and  yields  the  purest  charcoal  in  the 
world. 

Among  the  wild  animals  were  formerly  the  lion  and  the 
panther,  but  they  are  now  exceedingly  rare.  The  wolf,  wild 
boar,  jackal,  gazelle,  fox,  monkey,  wild  cow  (or  white  ante- 
lope) ibex,  horned  viper,  cobra,  bustard,  buzzard  and  hawk  are 
also  found.     The  ostrich  still  exists  in  southwest  Arabia  but  is 


I 


THE   GEOGRAPHICAL  DIVISIONS  OF  ARABIA  29 

not  common.  The  chief  domestic  animals  are  the  ass,  mule, 
sheep,  goats,  but  above  all  and  superior  to  all,  the  camel  and 
the  horse. 

The  exact  population  of  a  land  where  there  is  no  census,  and 
where  women  and  girls  are  never  counted  is  of  course  unknown. 
The  Ottoman  government  gives  exaggerated  estimates  for  its 
Arabian  provinces,  and  travellers  have  made  various  guesses. 
Some  recent  authorities,  omitting  Irak,  put  the  total  popula- 
tion of  Arabia  as  low  as  5,000,000.  A.  H.  Keane,  F.  R.  G. 
S.,  gives  the  following  estimate :  ^ 

Turkish  Arabia  : 

Hejaz,  3,500,000 
Yemen,  2,500,000 
Independettt  Arabia  .• 

Oman,   1,500,000 
Shammar,  Bahrein,  etc.,  3,500,000 


11,000,000 


Albrecht  Zehm  in  his  book  "  Arabien  seit  hundert  Jahren," 
arrives  at  nearly  the  same  result : 

Yemen  and  Asir,  2,252,000 

Hadramaut,  1,550,000 

Oman  and  Muscat,  1,350,000 

Bahrein  Katif,  Nejd,  2,350,000 

Hejaz,  Anaeze,  Kasim,  and  Jebel  Shammar,  3,250,000 


10,752,000 


But  undoubtedly  both  of  these  estimates,  following  Turkish 
authorities,  are  too  high,  especially  for  Hejaz  and  Yemen.  A 
conservative  estimate  would  be  8,000,000  for  the  entire  penin- 
sula in  its  widest  extent.  The  true  number  of  inhabitants  will 
remain  unknown  until  further  explorations  disclose  the  real 
character  of  southeastern  Arabia,  and  until  northern  Hadra- 
maut yields  up  its  secrets.  In  this,  as  in  other  respects,  the 
words  of  Livingstone  are  true  :  "  The  end  of  the  geographical 
feat  is  the  beginning  of  the  missionary  enterprise." 

'Geography  of  Asia  (Vol  II.,  p.  460),  1896. 


Ill 

THE   HOLY    LAND   OF   ARABIA — MECCA 

"The  Eastern  world  moves  slowly — eppur simuove.  Haifa  generation 
ago  steamers  were  first  started  to  Jiddah :  now  we  hear  of  a  projected  rail- 
way from  that  port  to  Mecca,  the  shareholders  being  all  Moslems.  And 
the  example  of  Jerusalem  encourages  us  to  hope  that  long  before  the  end 
of  the  century  a  visit  to  Mecca  will  not  be  more  difficult  than  a  trip  to 
Hebron." — Burton  (1855). 

"  Our  train  of  camels  drew  slowly  by  them :  but  when  the  smooth 
Mecca  merchant  heard  that  the  stranger  riding  with  the  camel  men  was  a 
Nasrany,  he  cried  '  Akhs  !  A  Nasrany  in  these  parts  ! '  and  with  the  hor- 
rid inurbanity  of  their  jealous  religion  he  added,  '  Ullah  curse  his  father ! ' 
and  stared  on  me  with  a  face  worthy  of  the  Koran." — Doughty  (1888). 

TT  is  a  rule  laid  down  in  the  Koran  and  confirmed  by  many 
-*-  traditions  that  the  sacred  territory  enclosing  the  birth- 
place and  the  tomb  of  the  prophet  shall  not  be  polluted  by  the 
visits  of  infidels.  "  O  believers  !  only  those  are  unclean  who 
join  other  gods  with  God  !  Let  them  not  therefore  after  this 
their  year  come  near  the  Sacred  Mosque."  (Surah  ix.  27.) 
Mohammed  is  reported  to  have  said  of  Mecca,  "What  a 
splendid  city  thou  art,  if  I  had  not  been  driven  out  of  thee  by 
my  tribe  I  would  dwell  in  no  other  place  but  in  thee.  It  is  not 
man  but  God  who  has  made  Mecca  sacred.  My  people  will  be 
always  safe  in  this  world  and  the  next  as  long  as  they  respect 
Mecca."     (Mishkat  book  XL.,  ch.  xv.) 

The  sacred  boundaries  of  Mecca  and  Medina  not  only  shut 
out  all  unbelievers,  but  they  make  special  demands  of  "  purity 
and  holiness"  (in  the  Moslem  sense)  on  the  part  of  the  true 
believers.  According  to  tradition  it  is  not  lawful  to  carry 
weapons  or  to  fight  within  the  limits  of  the  Haramein,     Its 

30 


MOHAMMEDAN    PILGRIMS   AT    MECCA 


THE   SACRED   WELL   OF   ZEMZEM    AT   MECCA 


THE  HOLY  LAND  OF  ARABIA— MECCA  31 

grass  and  thorns  must  not  be  cut  nor  must  its  game  be  molested. 
Some  doctors  of  law  hold  that  these  regulations  do  not  apply  to 
Medina,  but  others  make  the  burial-place  of  the  prophet  equally 
sacred  with  the  place  of  his  birth.  The  boundaries  of  this 
sacred  territory  are  rather  uncertain.  Abd  ul  Hak  says  that 
when,  at  the  time  of  the  rebuilding  of  the  Kaaba,  Abraham,  the 
friend  of  God,  placed  the  black  stone,  its  east,  west,  north  and 
south  sides  became  luminous,  and  wherever  the  light  ex- 
tended, became  the  boundaries  of  the  sacred  city  !  These 
limits  are  now  marked  by  pillars  of  masonry,  except  on  the 
Jiddah  and  Jairanah  road  where  there  is  some  dispute  as  to 
the  exact  boundary. 

The  sacred  territory  of  Medina  is  ten  or  twelve  miles  in 
diameter,  from  Jebel  'Air  to  Saoor.  Outside  of  these  two 
centres  all  of  the  province  of  Hejaz  is  legally  accessible  to  in- 
fidels, but  the  fanaticism  of  centuries  has  practically  made  the 
whole  region  round  Mecca  and  Medina  forbidden  territory  to 
any  but  Moslems,  In  Jiddah  Christians  are  tolerated  because 
of  necessity,  but  were  the  Mullahs  of  Mecca  to  have  their  way 
not  a  Prankish  merchant  or  consul  would  reside  there  for  a 
single  day. 

Despite  these  regulations  to  shut  out  "infidels"  from  wit- 
nessing the  annual  pilgrimage  and  seeing  the  sacred  shrines  of 
the  Moslem  world,  more  than  a  score  of  travellers  have  braved 
the  dangers  of  the  transgression  and  escaped  the  pursuit  of 
fanatics  to  tell  the  tale  of  their  adventures.^     Others  have  lost 

'  The  first  account  of  a  European  visiting  Mecca  is  that  of  Ludovico 
Bartema,  a  gentleman  of  Rome,  who  visited  the  city  in  1503;  his  narra- 
tive was  published  in  1555.  The  first  Englishman  was  Joseph  Pitts,  the 
sailor  from  Exeter,  in  1678;  then  followed  the  great  Arabian  traveller, 
John  Lewis  Burckhardt,  1814;  Burton  in  1853  visited  both  Mecca  and 
Medina;  H.  Bicknell  made  the  pilgrimage  in  1862  and  T.  F.  Keane  in 
1880.  The  narratives  of  each  of  these  pilgrims  have  been  published,  and 
from  them,  and  the  travels  of  Ali  Bey,  and  others,  we  know  something  of 
the  Holy  Land  of  Arabia.  Ali  Bey  was  in  reality  a  Spaniard,  called 
Juan  Badia  y  Seblich,  who  visited  Mecca  and  Medina  in  1 807  and  left  a 


32  yiRABlA,   THE  CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

their  life  in  the  attempt  even  in  recent  years.  Doughty '  tells 
of  a  Christian  who  was  foully  murdered  by  Turkish  soldiers 
when  found  in  the  limits  of  Medina  in  the  summer  of  1878. 
Burton  at  one  time  barely  escaped  being  murdered  because 
they  suspected  him  of  being  an  unbeliever. 

Jiddah,  the  harbor  of  Mecca,  is  distant  from  the  sacred  city 
about  sixty-five  miles,  and  is  in  consequence  the  chief  port  of 
debarkation  and  embarkation  for  pilgrims.  It  has  a  rather 
pretty  and  imposing  appearance  from  the  sea,  the  houses  being 
white  and  three  or  four  stories  high,  surrounded  by  a  wall  and 
flanked  by  a  half  dozen  lazy  windmills  of  Dutch  pattern  !  Its 
streets  are  narrow,  however,  and  indescribably  dirty,  so  that 
the  illusion  of  an  Oriental  picture  is  dispelled  as  soon  as  you 
set  foot  on  shore.  The  sanitary  condition  of  this  port  is  the 
worst  possible ;  evil  odors  abound,  the  water  supply  is  pre- 
carious and  bad,  and  a  shower  of  rain  is  always  followed  by 
an  outbreak  of  fever.  The  population  is  not  over  20,000  of 
every  Moslem  nation  under  heaven,  Galilee  of  "the  believers." 
Its  commercial  importance,  which  once  was  considerable,  has 
altogether  declined.  The  opening  of  the  Suez  canal  and  the 
direct  carrying  of  trade  by  ocean  steamers  dealt  the  deathblow 
to  the  extensive  coast-trade  of  both  Jiddah  and  the  other  Red 
Sea  ports.  The  people  of  Jiddah,  like  those  of  Mecca,  live 
by  fleecing  pilgrims,  and  when  the  trafiic  is  brisk  and  pilgrims 
affluent  they  grow  rich  enough  to  go  to  Mecca  and  set  up  a 
larger  establishment  of  the  same  sort.  There  are  hotel-keepers, 
drummers,  guides,  money-changers,  money-lenders,  slave-deal- 
long  account  of  his  travels  in  two  volumes  illustrated  by  many  beautiful 
engravings.  Burton's  account  of  his  pilgrimage  is  best  known,  but  Burck- 
hardt's  is  more  accurate  and  scholarly.  Of  modern  books,  that  of  the 
Dutch  scholar,  Snouck  Hurgronje,  who  resided  in  Mecca  for  a  long  time, 
is  by  far  the  best.  His  Mekka,  in  two  volumes,  is  accompanied  by  an 
atlas  of  photographs  and  gives  a  complete  history  of  the  city  as  well  as  a 
full  account  of  its  inhabitants  and  of  the  Java  pilgrimage. 

J  Vol.  II.,  p.  157. 


THE  HOLY  LAND  OF  ARABIA-MECCA 


33 


ers  and  even  worse  characters  connected  witli  the  annual  trans- 
fer of  the  caravans  of  haj'ees  (pilgrims)  from  the  coast  inland. 
The  number  of  pilgrims  arriving  at  Jiddah  by  sea  in  1893  was 
92,625,  In  1880  Mr.  Blunt  collected  some  interesting  statistics 
of  the  total  numbers  attending  the  pilgrimage  at  Mecca/  and 
his  investigations  prove  that  the  overland  caravans  are  steadily 
becoming  smaller. 

Before  any  pilgrims  are  allowed  to  enter  Jiddah  harbor  they 
are  compelled  to  undergo  ten  days'  quarantine  at  Kamaran,  an 
island  on  the  west  coast  of  Arabia ;  this  is  the  first  woe.  At 
Jiddah  they  remain  only  a  few  days  and  then  having  secured 
their  Mutawwaf  or  official  guide  they  proceed  to  Mecca.     The 

t  TABLE    OF  MECCA    PILGRIMAGE,  1880. 
(From  Blunt's  "  Future  of  Islam.") 


Nationality  of  Pilgrims. 


Arriving 

Arriving 

by  Sea. 

by  Land. 

8,500 

1,000 

5,000 

1,000 

6,000 

3,000 

3,000 

5,000 

22,000 

2,000 

1,000 

150 

6,000 

2,500 

15,000 

12,000 

100 

61,750 

31.500 

Total  Moslem 
Pop.  represented. 


Ottoman  Subjects  (excluding  Ara- 
bia)   

Egyptians 

From  "  Barbary  States "    .    .    .    . 

Yemen  Arabs 

Oman  and  Hadramaut 

Nejd,  etc.,  Arabs        

Hejaz  (including  Mecca)  .... 

Negroes  from  Sudan 

"  "     Zanzibar 

Malabari  from  Cape  of  G.  Hope . 

Persians 

Indians  (British  Subjects)  .... 

Malays  and  Javanese 

Chinese 

Mongols "I 

Russians,  Tartars,  etc >■ 

Afghans  and  Baluchis    ....  J 
(included  in  Ottoman  Haj.) 


22,000,000 
5,000,000 

1 8,000,000 
2,500,000 
3,000,000 
4,000,000 
2,000,000 

10,000,000 
1,500,000 


8,000, 

40,000, 

30,000, 

15,000, 

6,000, 

5,000, 

3,000, 


,000 
,000 
,000 
,000 
,000 
,000 
,000 


Total  pilgrims  present  at  Arafat  . 


93.250 


175,000,000 


34  j4RABU,   the  cradle  OF  ISLAM 

road  is  barren  and  uninteresting  in  the  extreme.  Halfway  to 
Mecca  is  El  Had  where  the  road  divides ;  one  branch  leads 
to  Taif,  the  only  fertile  spot  in  this  wilderness  province,  and 
the  other  proceeds  to  Mecca,  the  ancient  name  of  which  was 
Bakkah. 

Were  we  to  believe  one  half  of  what  is  said  by  Moslem 
writers  in  praise  of  Mecca  it  would  prove  the  Holy  City  to  be 
a  very  paradise  of  delights,  a  centre  of  learning  and  the  para- 
gon of  earthly  habitations.  But  the  facts  show  it  to  be  far 
otherwise.  The  location  of  the  city  is  unfortunate.  It  lies  in 
a  hot  sandy  valley  absolutely  without  verdure  and  surrounded 
by  rocky  barren  hills,  destitute  of  trees  or  even  shrubs.  The 
valley  is  about  300  feet  wide  and  4,000  feet  long,  and  slopes 
toward  the  south.  The  Kaaba  or  Beit  Allah  is  located  in  the 
bed  of  the  valley  and  all  the  streets  slope  toward  it,  so  that  it 
is  almost  closed  in  on  every  side  by  houses  and  walls,  and 
stands  as  it  were  in  the  pit  of  the  theatre.  The  houses  are 
built  of  dark  stone  and  are  generally  lofty  in  order  to  accom- 
modate as  many  pilgrims  as  possible  in  the  limited  space.  The 
streets  are  nearly  all  unpaved  and  in  summer  the  sand  and 
dust  are  as  disagreeable  as  is  the  black  mud  in  the  rainy  sea- 
son. Strangely  enough,  although  the  city  itself  and  even  the 
Kaaba  have  more  than  once  suffered  from  destructive  floods 
that  have  poured  down  the  narrow  valley,  Mecca  is  poorly 
provided  with  water.  There  are  few  cisterns  to  catch  the 
rains  and  the  well  water  is  brackish.  The  famous  well  of 
Zemzem  has  an  abundance  of  water  but  it  is  not  fit  to  drink. ^ 
The  best  water  is  brought  by  an  aqueduct  from  the  vicinity  of 
Arafat  six  or  seven  miles  distant  and  sold  for  a  high  price  by  a 
water-trust  which  annually  fills  the  coffers  of  the  Shereef  of 

•  Professor  Hankin  in  the  British  Medical  Journal  for  June,  1894,  pub- 
lished the  result  of  his  analysis  of  Zemzem  water  as  follows :  "  Total 
solid  in  a  gallon,  259;  Chlorine,  51.24;  Free  ammonia,  parts  per  mil- 
lion, 0.93  ;  Albuminoid  ammonia,  .45.  It  contains  an  amount  of  solids 
greater  than  that  in  any  well  water  used  for  potable  purposes." 


THE  HOLY  LAND  OF  ARABIA— MECCA  35 

Mecca.  This  official  is  the  nominal  and  often  the  real  gover- 
nor of  the  city.  He  is  chosen  from  the  Sayyids  or  descendants 
of  Mohammed  living  in  Hejaz  or  secures  the  high  office  by 
force.  His  tenure  of  office  is  subject  to  the  approval  and  au- 
thority of  the  Turkish  Sultan,  whose  garrisons  occupy  the  fort 
near  the  town. 

The  Sacred  Mosque,  (Mesjid  el  Haram)  containing  the 
Kaaba  or  Beit  Allah  is  the  prayer-centre  of  the  Mohammedan 
world  and  the  objective  point  of  thousands  of  pilgrims  every 
year.  According  to  Moslem  writers  it  was  first  constructed  in 
heaven,  2,000  years  before  the  creation  of  the  world.  Adam, 
the  first  nian,  built  the  Kaaba  on  earth  exactly  under  the  spot 
occupied  by  its  perfect  model  in  heaven.  The  10,000  angels 
appointed  to  guard  this  house  of  God  seem  to  have  been  very 
remiss  in  their  duty  for  it  has  often  suffered  at  the  hands  of 
men  and  from  the  elements.  It  was  destroyed  by  the  flood  and 
rebuilt  by  Ishmael  and  Abraham.  The  legends  connected  with 
its  construction  and  history  fill  many  pages  of  the  Moslem  tra- 
ditions and  commentaries.  The  name  Kaaba  means  a  cube ; 
but  the  building  is  not  built  true  to  line  and  is  in  fact  an  un- 
equal trapezium.^  Because  of  its  location  in  a  hollow  and  its 
black-cloth  covering  these  inequalities  are  not  apparent  to  the 
eye. 

The  Kaaba  proper  stands  in  an  oblong  space  250  paces  long 
by  200  broad.  This  open  space  is  surrounded  by  colonnades 
used  for  schools  and  as  the  general  rendezvous  of  pilgrims.  It 
is  in  turn  surrounded  by  the  outer  temple  wall  with  its  nineteen 
gates  and  six  minarets.  The  Mosque  is  of  much  more  recent 
date  than  the  Kaaba  which  was  well  known  as  an  idolatrous 
Arabian  shrine  long  before  the  time  of  Mohammed.  The 
Sacred  Mosque  and  its  Kaaba  contain  the  following  treasures : 
the  Black-Stone,  the  well  of  Zemzem,  the  great  pulpit,  the 
staircase,  and  the  Kubattein  or  two  small  mosques  of  Saab  and 

'  Its  measurements,  according  to  AH  Bey,  are  37  ft.  2  in.,  31  ft.  7  in., 
38  ft.  4  in.,  29  ft.  and  its  height  is  34  ft.  4  in. 


36  ARABIA,   THE  CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

Abbas.  The  remainder  of  the  space  is  occupied  by  pavements 
and  gravel  arranged  to  accommodate  and  distinguish  the  four 
orthodox  sects  in  their  devotions. 

The  Black-Stone  is  undoubtedly  the  oldest  treasure  of  Mecca. 
Stone-worship  was  an  Arabian  form  of  idolatry  in  very  ancient 
times  and  relics  of  it  remain  in  many  parts  of  the  peninsula. 
Maximus  Tyrius  wrote  in  the  second  century,  "  the  Arabians 
pay  homage  to  I  know  not  what  god  which  they  represent  by  a 
quadrangular  stone."  The  Guebars  or  ancient  Persians  assert 
that  the  black  stone  was  an  emblem  of  Saturn  and  was  left  in 
the  Kaaba  by  Mahabad.  We  have  the  Moslem  tradition  that 
it  came  down  snow-white  from  heaven  and  was  blackened  by  the 
touch  of  sin — according  to  one  tradition,  that  of  an  impure 
woman,  and  according  to  another  by  the  kisses  of  thousands  of 
believers.  It  is  probably  an  aerolite  and  owes  its  reputation  to 
its  fall  from  the  sky.  Moslem  historians  do  not  deny  that  it 
was  an  object  of  worship  before  Islam,  but  they  escape  the 
moral  difficulty  and  justify  their  prophet  by  idle  tales  concern- 
ing the  stone  and  its  relation  to  all  the  patriarchs  beginning 
with  Adam. 

The  stone  is  a  fragment  of  what  appears  like  black  volcanic 
rock  sprinkled  with  irregular  reddish  crystals  worn  smooth  by 
the  touch  of  centuries.  It  is  held  together  by  a  broad  band  of 
metal,  said  to  be  silver,  and  is  imbedded  in  the  southeast  corner 
of  the  Kaaba  five  feet  from  the  ground.  It  is  not  generally 
known  that  there  is  a  second  sacred  stone  at  the  corner  facing 
the  south.  It  is  called  Rakn  el  Yemeni  or  Yemen  pillar  and  is 
frequently  kissed  by  pilgrims  although  according  to  the  correct 
ritual  it  should  only  be  saluted  by  a  touch  of  the  right  hand. 

The  well  of  Zemzem  is  located  near  the  Makam  Hanbali,  the 
place  of  prayer  of  this  sect.  The  building  which  encloses  the 
well  was  erected  in  a.  h.  1072  (a.  d.  1661)  and  its  interior  is 
of  white  marble.  Mecca  perchance  owes  its  origin  as  an  old 
Arabian  centre  to  this  medicinal  spring  with  its  abundant  supply 
of  purgative  waters    for  the  nomads  to-day  go  long  distances 


All    BEY'S 
1>IjLH   of    THI     prophets    MOSOUE    at   MECCAff.. 


GCaOCCMUr  r/i  ]Yn  BAIT  AUaB  Q&  GQDS^EDU&E  ' 


*^JMm  4M 


ALI   BEY'S  PLAN  OF  THE  PROPHET'S   MOSQUE  AT  MECCA 


THE  HOLY  LAND  OF  ARABIA-MECCA  37 

to  visit  sulphur  and  other  springs  in  various  parts  of  Arabia. 
The  well  of  Zemzem  is  one  of  the  great  sources  of  income  to 
the  Meccans.  The  water  is  carried  about  for  sale  on  the  streets 
and  in  the  mosques  in  curious  pitchers  made  of  unglazed  earth- 
enware. They  are  slightly  porous  so  as  to  cool  the  water, 
which  is  naturally  always  of  a  lukewarm  temperature,  and  are 
all  marked  with  certain  mystical  characters  in  black  wax. 
Crowds  assemble  around  the  well  during  the  pilgrimage  and 
many  coppers  fall  to  the  share  of  the  lucky  Meccans  who  have 
the  privilege  of  drawing  the  water  for  the  faithful. 

The  pilgrimage  to  Mecca  should  be  performed  in  the  twelfth 
lunar  month  of  the  calendar  called  Dhu  el  Haj.  It  is  incum- 
bent on  every  believer  except  for  lawful  hindrance  because  of 
poverty  or  illness.  Mohammed  made  it  the  fifth  pillar  of  re- 
ligion and  more  than  anything  else  it  has  tended  to  unify  the 
Moslem  world.  The  Koran  teaching  regarding  the  duties  of 
pilgrims  at  the  Sacred  Mosque,  is  as  follows  :  "  Proclaim  to 
the  peoples  a  Pilgrimage.  Let  them  come  to  thee  on  foot  and 
on  every  fleet  camel  arriving  by  every  deep  defile."  (Surah 
xxii.  28.)  "  Verily  As  Safa  and  Al  Marwa  are  among  the  signs 
of  God :  whoever  then  maketh  a  pilgrimage  to  the  temple  or 
visiteth  it  shall  not  be  to  blame  if  he  go  round  about  them 
both."  (ii.  153.)  "  Let  the  pilgrimage  be  made  in  the  months 
already  known  and  who  so  undertaketh  the  pilgrimage  therein 
let  him  not  know  a  woman,  nor  transgress  nor  wrangle  in  the 
pilgrimage.  ...  It  shall  be  no  crime  in  you  if  ye  seek  an 
increase  from  your  Lord  (by  trade)  ;  and  when  ye  pass  swiftly 
on  from  Arafat  then  remember  God  near  the  holy  Mosque. 
.  .  .  Bear  God  in  mind  during  the  stated  days  ;  but  if  any 
haste  away  in  two  days  it  shall  be  no  fault  to  him,  and  if  any 
tarry  it  shall  be  no  fault  in  him."     (Surah  ii.  passim.) 

From  the  Koran  alone  no  definite  idea  of  the  pilgrim's 
duties  can  be  gleaned;  but  fortunately  for  all  true  believers 
the  Prophet's  perfect  example  handed  down  by  tradition  leaves 
nothing  in  doubt  and  prescribes  every  detail  of  conduct  with 


38  ARABIA,    THE   CRADLE   OF  ISLAM 

ridiculous  minuteness.  The  orthodox  way  is  as  follows  :  ar- 
rived within  a  short  distance  of  Mecca  the  pilgrims,  male  and 
female,  put  off  their  ordinary  clothing  and  assume  the  garb  of  a 
hajee.  It  consists  of  two  pieces  of  white  cloth  one  of  which  is 
tied  around  the  loins  and  the  other  thrown  over  the  back  ; 
sandals  may  be  worn  but  not  shoes  and  the  head  must  be  left 
.  uncovered.  (In  idolatrous  days  the  Arabs  did  not  wear  any 
clothing  in  making  the  circuit  of  the  Kaaba.)  On  facing 
Mecca  the  pilgrim  pronounces  the  niyah  or  "  intention  "  : 

"  Here  I  am,  O  Allah,  here  I  am ; 
No  partner  hast  Thou,  here  I  am ; 
Verily  praise  and  riches  and  the  kingdom  are  to  Thee; 
No  partner  hast  Thou,  here  am  I." 

After  certain  legal  ablutions  the  pilgrim  enters  the  Mosque  by 
the  Bab-el-salam  and  kisses  the  Black-Stone  making  the  circuit, 
running,  around  the  Kaaba  seven  times.  (In  idolatrous  days 
the  Arabs  did  this  in  imitation  of  the  motions  of  the  planets ;  a 
remnant  of  their  Sabean  worship.)  Another  special  prayer  is 
said  and  then  the  pilgrim  proceeds  to  Makam  Ibrahim,  where 
Abraham  is  said  to  have  stood  when  he  rebuilt  the  Kaaba. 
There  the  hajee  goes  through  the  regular  genuflections  and 
prayers.  He  drinks  next  from  the  holy  well  and  once  more 
kisses  the  Black-Stone.  Then  follows  the  running  between 
Mounts  Safa  and  Merwa.  Proceeding  outward  from  the 
Mosque  by  the  gate  of  Safa  he  ascends  the  hill  reciting  the 
153d  verse  of  the  Surah  of  the  Cow.  "Verily  Safa  and  Merwa 
are  the  signs  of  God."  Having  arrived  at  the  summit  of  the 
mount  he  turns  to  the  Kaaba  and  three  times  recites  the  words : 

"  There  is  no  god  but  God ! 

God  is  great ! 

There  is  no  god  save  God  alone ! 

He  hath  performed  His  promise 
and  hath  aided  His  servant  and 
put  to  flight  the  hosts  of  in- 
fidels by  Himself  alone  !  " 


THE  HOLY  LAND  OF  ARABIA— MECCA  39 

He  then  runs  from  the  top  of  Safa  through  the  valley  to  the 
summit  of  Merwa  seven  times  repeating  the  aforesaid  prayers 
each  time  on  both  hills.  This  is  the  sixth  day,  on  the  evening 
of  which  the  pilgrim  again  encompasses  the  Kaaba.  On  the 
next  day  there  is  a  sermon  from  the  grand  pulpit.  On  the 
eighth  day  the  pilgrim  goes  three  miles  distant  to  Mina,  where 
Adam  longed  for  his  lost  paradise  (!)  and  there  spends  the 
night.  The  next  morning  he  leaves  for  Arafat,  another  hill 
about  eleven  miles  from  Mecca,  hears  a  second  sermon,  return- 
ing before  nightfall  to  Muzdalifa,  a  place  halfway  between 
Mina  and  Arafat. 

The  following  day  is  the  great  day  of  the  pilgrimage.  It  is 
called  the  day  of  Sacrifice  and  is  simultaneously  celebrated  all 
over  the  Moslem  world.*  Early  in  the  morning  the  pilgrim 
proceeds  to  Mina  where  there  are  three  pillars  called,  the 
"Great  Devil,"  the  "Middle  Pillar"  and  the  "First  One." 
At  these  dumb  idols  the  "monotheist"  flings  seven  pebbles 
and  as  he  throws  them  says:  "In  the  name  of  Allah  and 
Allah  is  mighty,  in  hatred  of  the  devil  and  his  shame,  I  do 
this."  He  then  performs  the  sacrifice,  a  sheep,  goat,  cow  or 
camel  according  to  the  means  of  the  pilgrim.  The  victim  is 
placed  facing  the  Kaaba  and  a  knife  plunged  into  the  animal's 
throat  with  the  cry,  Allahu  Akbar.  This  ceremony  concludes 
the  pilgrimage  proper ;  the  hair  and  nails  are  then  cut  and  the 
ihrcvn  or  pilgrims'  garb  is  doffed  for  ordinary  clothing.  Three 
days  more  are  sometimes  counted  as  belonging  to  the  pilgrim- 
age, the  eleventh,  twelfth  and  thirteenth  days,  called  Eyyam-u- 
tashrik,  or  days  of  drying  flesh,  because  during  them  the  flesh 
of  the  sacrifices  is  cut  into  slices  and  dried  in  the  sun  to  be 
eaten  on  the  return  journey. 

After  the  Meccan  pilgrimage  most  Moslems  go  to  Medina  to 
visit  the  tomb  of  Mohammed  ;  the  Wahabees  however  consider 

1  This  religion  which  denies  an  atonement  and  teaches  that  Christ  was 
not  crucified  yet  has  for  its  great  festival  a  feast  of  sacrifice  to  commem- 
orate the  obedience  of  Abraham  and  the  substitute  provided  by  God ! 


40  ARABIA,    THE   CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

this  "infidelity"  and  honor  of  the  creature  more  than  of  the 
Creator.  Other  Moslems  base  their  conduct  on  the  saying  of 
the  prophet  himself,  Ma7i  yuhajja  wa  lam  ye-ziirni  fakad 
jefani,  "who  goes  on  Haj  and  does  not  visit  me  has  insulted 
me  !  "  The  Meccans  call  themselves  "  neighbors  of  God  "  and 
the  people  of  Medina  "neighbors  of  the  prophet."  For  long 
ages  a  hot  rivalry  has  existed  between  the  two  cities,  a  rivalry 
which,  beginning  in  the  taunt  or  jest,  often  ends  in  bloodshed. 

The  pilgrim,  having  completed  all  legal  requirements,  is 
sure  to  visit  the  proper  authorities  and  secure  a  certificate  to 
prove  to  his  countrymen  that  he  is  a  real  Hajee  and  to  sub- 
stantiate his  religious  boasting  in  days  to  come.  The  certifi- 
cate is  also  required  when  one  goes  on  pilgrimage  for  a 
deceased  Moslem  or  a  wealthy  Moslem  who  is  bedridden.  In 
such  a  case  the  substitute  has  all  the  pleasures  (!)  of  the  jour- 
ney at  the  expense  of  his  principal  but  the  merit  goes  to  the 
man  who  pays  the  bills  and  who  naturally  craves  the  receipt. 
The  certificate  is  of  various  forms  and  contains  crude  pictures 
of  the  holy  places  and  verses  from  Koran. 

Needless  to  relate  these  certificates  cost  money,  as  does 
everything  at  Mecca  save  the  air  you  breathe.  No  honest 
Moslem  ever  spoke  with  praise  of  the  citizens  of  Mecca ;  many 
are  their  proverbs  to  prove  why  wickedness  flourishes  in  the 
courts  of  Allah.  And  European  travellers  agree  that  of  all 
Orientals  the  Meccans  take  the  palm  for  thoroughgoing  rascal- 
ity. Ali  Bey  dilates  on  the  lewdness  of  the  men  and  the  loose- 
ness of  the  women  of  Mecca.  Hurgronje  unblushingly  lifts  the 
veil  that  hides  the  corruption  of  the  sacred  temple  service  with 
its  army  of  eunuch  police,  and  pictures  the  slave-market  in  full 
swing  within  a  stone's  throw  of  the  Kaaba.  Burton  thus  char- 
acterizes the  men  who  live  on  their  religion  and  grow  fat 
(figuratively)  by  unveiling  its  m3'steries  to  others  : 

"The  Meccan  is  a  covetous  spendthrift.  His  wealth,  lightly 
won,  is  lightly  prized.  Pay,  pensions,  stipends,  presents,  and 
the  '  Ikram '  here,  as  at  Medina,  supply  the  citizen  with  the 


XJI 


*Ibid,,  pp.  61-64. 


THE  HOLY  LAND  OF  ARABIA— MECCA  41 

means  of  idleness.  With  him  everything  is  on  the  most  expen- 
sive scale,  his  marriage,  his  religious  ceremonies,  and  his  house- 
hold expenses.  His  house  is  luxuriously  furnished,  entertain- 
ments are  frequent,  and  the  junketings  of  the  women  make  up 
a  heavy  bill  at  the  end  of  the  year.  It  is  a  common  practice 
for  the  citizen  to  anticipate  the  pilgrimage  season  by  falling 
into  the  hands  of  the  usurer.  The  most  unpleasant  peculiari- 
ties of  the  Meccans  are  their  pride  and  coarseness  of  language. 
They  look  upon  themselves  as  the  cream  of  earth's  sons,  and 
resent  with  extreme  asperity  the  least  slighting  word  concern- 
ing the  Holy  City  and  its  denizens.  They  plume  themselves 
upon  their  holy  descent,  their  exclusion  of  infidels,  their  strict 
fastings,  their  learned  men,  and  their  purity  of  language.  In 
fact,  their  pride  shows  itself  at  every  moment ;  but  it  is  not  the 
pride  which  makes  a  man  too  proud  to  do  a  dirty  action.  The 
Meccans  appeared  to  me  distinguished,  even  in  this  foul- 
mouthed  East,  by  the  superior  licentiousness  of  their  language. 
Abuse  was  bad  enough  in  the  streets,  but  in  the  house  it  be- 
came intolerable."  ^ 

Temporary  marriages  which  are  a  mere  cloak  for  open  pros- 
titution are  common  in  Mecca  and  are  indeed  one  of  the  chief 
means  of  livelihood  to  the  natives.'  Concubinage  and  divorce 
are  more  universal  than  in  any  other  part  of  the  Moslem 
world ;  ^  sodomy  is  practiced  in  the  Sacred  Mosque  itself*  and 
the  suburbs  of  the  city  are  the  scene  of  nightly  carnivals  of 
iniquity,  especially  after  the  pilgrims  have  left  and  the  natives 
are  rich  with  the  fresh  spoils  of  the  traffic*  As  might  be 
expected,  superstition  grows  rife  in  such  a  soil  and  under  such 
circumstances.     All  sorts  of  holy-places,  legends,  sacred  rocks, 

'  This  is  the  testimony  of  Captain  Burton,  the  man  who  translated  an 
unexpurgated  text  of  the  Arabian  nights  and  left  behind  a  book  in  manu- 
script which  his  wife  had  the  good  sense  to  destroy  and  so  prevent  its 
publication. 

2  Hurgronje,  p.  5,  Vol.  II,  *Ibid.,  p.  102.  ■*  Ibid.,  p.  II. 

*Ibid.,  pp.  61-64. 


42  ARABIA,   THE   CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

trees  and  houses  abound.  Every  Moslem  saint  who  tarried  in 
the  city  or  died  there  has  left  something  to  be  remembered  and 
honored. 

Gross  ignorance  coupled  with  equal  conceit  seems  to  be  the 
universal  characteristic  of  the  people  of  Mecca.  Modern 
science  is  laughed  at  and  everything  turns,  on  the  Ptolemaic 
system,  around  the  little  world  of  the  Koran.  Jinn  are  exor- 
cised ;  witches  and  the  evil-eye  are  avoided  by  amulets ;  in 
short  all  the  superstitious  practices  of  the  Moslem  world  are 
cultivated  in  this  centre  of  world-wide  pilgrimage.  Astrology 
still  usurps  the  place  of  astronomy  and  it  is  considered  blas- 
phemy to  profess  to  know  the  hour  of  an  eclipse  or  the  day  of 
the  new  moon  before  it  is  revealed  from  heaven.  Alchemy  is 
the  science  that  attracts  the  Meccan  physician  more  than  the 
marvels  of  surgery  ;  potions  of  holy-writ  or  talismans  are  still 
in  use  for  sprains  and  dislocations.  Their  ignorance  of  geogra- 
phy and  history  beyond  the  confines  of  the  pilgrim-world  is 
pathetic.  One  of  the  chief  Mullahs  asked  Hurgronje  "how 
many  days  was  the  caravan  journey  from  Moskop  (Russia)  to 
Andalusia  (Spain)?"  A  government  printing-press  has  been 
opened  at  Mecca  in  recent  years  and  an  official  gazette  is  pub- 
lished ;  but  even  Turkish  civilization  and  learning  are  consid- 
ered far  from  orthodox  for  their  ways  partake  too  much  of  those 
of  the  "infidels"  of  the  rest  of  Europe.  Photography  is  a 
forbidden  art  and  money  with  "images"  of  queens  and  em- 
perors is  only  used  with  the  prayer  is  tag  fir  allah,  "I  ask  par- 
don of  God."  On  the  other  hand  many  old  European  coins 
no  longer  current  are  looked  upon  as  being  doubly  valuable  as 
amulets  and  charms.  One  of  these,  the  Mishkash  is  supposed 
to  have  special  virtues  for  newly-married  women. 

"The  irony  of  history,"  as  Hurgronje  remarks,  "was  not 
satisfied  that  at  Medina  the  grave  of  Mohammed  who  cursed 
saint-worship  should  become  a  centre  of  pilgrimage,  but  added 
the  circumstance  that  at  Mecca,  Moslem  women,  who  reject 
images  and  Christ-worship,  should  prize  as  an  amulet  the  im- 


THE  HOLY  LAND  OF  ARABI/I-MECCA 


43 


age  of  Jesus  and  an  Evangelist."  Of  course,  the  women 
themselves  are  in  total  ignorance  of  the  inscription  and  char- 
acter of  the  coin. 

There  is  a  great  abundance  of  schools  at  Mecca  but  no 
education.     Everything  is  on  the  old  lines,  beginning  and  end- 


A  CHRISTIAN  COIN  USED  AS  AN  AMULET  BY  MECCAN  WOMEN.' 

ing  with  the  Koran,  that  Procrustean  bed  for  the  human  intel- 
lect. "  The  letter  killeth."  And  it  is  the  letter  first,  foremost 
and  always  that  is  the  topic  of  study.  The  youth  learn  to 
read  the  Koran  not  to  understand  its  meaning,  but  to  drone  it 
out  professionally  at  funerals  and  feasts,  so  many  chapters  for 
so  many  shekels.  Modern  science  or  history  are  not  even 
mentioned,  much  less  taught,  at  even  the  high-schools  of 
Mecca.  Grammar,  prosody,  calligraphy,  Arabian  history,  and 
the  first  elements  of  arithmetic,  but  chiefly  the  Koran  com- 
mentaries and  traditions,  traditions,  traditions,  form  the  curric- 
ulum of  the  Mohammedan  college.  Those  who  desire  a  post- 
graduate course  devote  themselves  to  Mysticism  {Tassawaf) 
or  join  an  order  of  the  Derwishes  who  all  have  their  represent- 
ative sheikhs  at  Mecca. 

The  method  of  teaching  in  the  schools  of  Mecca,  which  can 
be  taken  as  an  example  of  the  best  that  Arabia  affords,  is  as 
follows.  The  child  of  intellectual  promise  is  first  taught  his 
alphabet  from  a  small  wooden  board  on  which  they  are  written 

'  This  coin  is  called  Miskkash  and  is  a  Venetian  coin  of  Duke  Aloys 
Mocenigo  I.  (1570-77  A.  D.).  On  one  side  the  Duke  is  kneeling  before 
St.  Mark  the  patron  saint  of  Venice  and  on  the  other  is  the  image  of 
Christ  surrounded  by  stars. 


44  ARABIA,   THE  CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

by  the  teacher ;  slates  are  unknown.  Then  he  learns  the 
Abjad  or  numerical  value  of  each  letter — a  useless  proceeding 
at  present  as  the  Arabic  notation,  originally  from  India,  is 
everywhere  in  use.  After  this  he  learns  to  write  down  the 
ninety-nine  names  of  Allah  and  to  read  the  first  chapter  of  the 
Koran ;  then  he  attacks  the  last  two  chapters,  because  they  are 
short.  The  teacher  next  urges  him  through  the  book,  making 
the  pupil  read  at  the  top  of  his  voice.  The  greatest  strictness 
is  observed  as  to  pronunciation  and  pauses  but  nothing  what- 
ever is  said  to  explain  the  meaning  of  the  words.  Having 
thus  finished  the  Koran,  that  is,  read  it  through  once,  the  pupil 
takes  up  the  elements  of  grammar,  learning  rules  by  rote  both 
of  sarf  (inflection)  and  7tahw  (syntax).  Then  follow  the  lib- 
eral sciences,  al-mantik  (logic),  al-hisab  (arithmetic),  al-jabr 
(algebra),  al-md'ana  wa'l  beyan  (rhetoric  and  versification), 
al-fikh  (jurisprudence),  al-akdid  (scholastic  theology),  at- 
iafsir  (exegetics),  ilm  ul-usul  (science  of  sources  of  interpre- 
tation) and  lastly,  the  capstone  of  education,  al-ahadith  (tra- 
ditions). Instruction  is  given  by  lectures;  text-books  are 
seldom  used ;  lessons  begin  in  the  morning  and  continue  for  a 
few  hours ;  in  the  afternoon  they  are  interrupted  by  prayer- 
time.  Even  at  Mecca  the  favorite  place  for  teaching  is  in  the 
Mosque-court  where  constant  interruptions  and  distractions 
must  make  it  pleasant  for  a  lazy  pupil. 


IV 

THE   HOLY    LAND    OF   ARABIA — MEDINA 

"  Wilhin  the  sanctuary  or  bounds  of  the  city  all  sins  are  forbidden ;  but 
the  several  schools  advocate  difterent  degrees  of  strictness.  The  Imam 
Malik,  for  instance,  allows  no  latrinse  nearer  to  El  Medina  than  Jebel  Ayr, 
a  distance  of  about  three  miles.  He  also  forbids  slaying  wild  animals, 
but  at  the  same  time  he  specifies  no  punishment  for  the  offence.  All 
authors  strfenuously  forbid,  within  the  boundaries,  slaying  man,  (except 
invaders,  infidels  and  the  sacrilegious)  drinking  spirits  and  leading  an 
immoral  life.  In  regard  to  the  dignity  of  the  sanctuary  there  is  but  one 
opinion  ;  a  number  of  traditions  testify  to  its  honor,  praise  its  people  and 
threaten  dreadful  things  to  those  who  injure  it  or  them." — Bttrton. 

\  BOUT  seventy  miles  southeast  of  Mecca  is  the  small  but 
'^*'  pleasant  town  of  Taif,  to  which  the  pashas  condemned 
for  the  murder  of  Abdul  Aziz  Sultan  were  banished.  It  is  one 
of  the  most  interesting  and  attractive  towns  of  all  Arabia,  being 
surrounded  by  gardens  and  vineyards  from  which  Mecca  has 
been  supplied  for  ages.  The  tropical  rains  last  from  four  to 
six  weeks  at  Taif,  and  good  wells  abound  to  water  the  gardens 
when  the  rains  cease,  so  that  the  place  is  famous  for  its  garden- 
produce.  In  close  proximity  to  the  barren  Mecca  district 
Taif  is  a  paradise  for  the  pilgrim  and  a  health  resort  for  the 
jaundiced,  fever-emaciated  Meccan.  At  Taif  Doughty  saw 
three  old  stone  idols  of  "the  days  of  ignorance"  ;  El  Uzza, 
a  block  of  granite  some  twenty  feet  long ;  another  called 
Hubbal,  with  a  cleft  in  the  middle,  "by  our  Lord  Aly's  sword- 
stroke"  ;  and  El  Lat,  an  unshapely  crag  of  grey  granite. 
These  were  earlier  stone-gods  of  the  Arab,  and  now  lie  for-, 
saken  in  the  dirt,  while  their  brother-god,  the  famous  Black- 
Stone,  receives  the  reverence  of  millions  ! 

45 


46  ARABIA,   THE  CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

The  road  from  Mecca  to  El  Medina — "the  city"— so 
called  because  the  prophet  chose  it  as  his  home  in  time  of  per- 
secution— leads  nearly  due  north.  It  is  an  uninteresting,  and 
for  the  most  part,  a  forsaken  country  that  separates  the  rival 
cities.     Burton  Avrites  that  it  reminded  him  of  the  lines, 

«'  Full  many  a  waste  I've  wandered  o'er, 
Clomb  many  a  crag,  crossedy  many  a  shore, 

But,  by  my  halidome 
A  scene  so  rude,  so  wild  as  this, 
Yet  so  sublime  in  barrenness, 
Ne'er  did  my  wandering  footsteps  press, 
Where'er  I  chanced  to  roam." 

There  are  two  caravan-routes,  both  of  which  are  used  by  the 
pilgrims,  but  the  eastern  road  is  used  most  frequently.^ 

The  region  between  Mecca  and  Medina  is  the  home  of  the 
ancient  poets  of  Arabia  and  is  classic  ground.  The  seven 
Moallakat  or  suspended  poems  find  their  scene  in  this  region. 
Lebid  wrote : 

"  Deserted  is  the  village — waste  the  halting  place  and  home, 
At  Mina,  o'er  Rijam  and  Ghul  wild  beasts  unheeded  roam, 
On  Rayyan  hill  the  channel  lines  have  left  their  naked  trace, 
Time-worn  as  primal  writ  that  dints  the  mountain  face." 

El  Medina,  formerly  called  Yathrih,  is  now  also  called  El 
Munowera,  the  "illuminated,"  and  devout  Moslems  com- 
monly claim  to  see,  on  approaching  the  city,  a  luminous  haze 
hanging  over  its  mosques  and  houses.  The  legends  and 
superstitions  that  cluster  around  the  last  resting-place  of  the 
Prophet  are  not  less  in  number  nor  less  credible  than  those  that 
glorify  the  place  of  his  birth,  although  the  town  is  only  about 

'The  western  or  coast  route  goes  by  Koleis,  Rabek,  Mastura,  and  near 
Jebel  Eyub  (Job's  Mountain)  over  Jebel  Subh,  then  to  Suk-es-Safra  and 
Suk  el  Jedid  to  Medina.  The  eastern  road  was  the  one  taken  by  Burton, 
and  goes  by  way  of  El  Zaribah,  El  Sufena,  El  Suerkish,  etc.,  a  distance 
248  miles. 


THE  HOLY  LAND  OF  ARABIA— MEDINA  47 

half  the  size  and  contains  16,000  inhabitants.  It  consists  of 
three  principal  divisions :  the  town  proper,  the  fort  and  the 
suburbs.  It  is  surrounded  by  a  wall  forty  feet  high  ;  the  streets 
are  narrow  and  unpaved ;  the  houses  are  flat-roofed  and  double- 
storied. 

The  current  dispute,  however,  for  many  centuries  has  been 
regarding  the  relative  sanctity  and  importance  of  the  two  cities, 
Mecca  and  Medina.  A  visit  to  Medina  is  called  Ziyarat,  as 
that  to  Mecca  is  called  Haj ;  the  latter  is  obligatory  by  order 
of  the  Koran,  while  the  former  is  meritorious  on  the  authority 
of  tradition.  The  orthodox  further  stipulate,  that  circumambu- 
lation  around  the  prophet's  tomb  at  Medina  is  not  allowed  as 
around  the  Kaaba  at  Mecca  nor  should  men  wear  the  ihram,  nor 
kiss  the  tomb.  On  the  other  hand,  to  spit  upon  it  or  treat  it 
with  contempt,  as  the  Wahabees  did,  is  held  to  be  the  act  of 
an  infidel.  To  quote  again  from  Burton  :  "  The  general  con- 
sensus of  Islam  admits  the  superiority  of  the  Beit  Allah  at 
Mecca  to  the  whole  world ;  and  declares  Medina  to  be  more 
venerable  than  every  part  of  Mecca,  and  consequently  all  the 
earth,  except  only  the  Beit  Allah.  This  last  is  a  j't^ste  milieu 
view  by  no  means  in  favor  with  the  inhabitants  of  either 
place." 

The  one  thing  that  gives  Medina  claim  to  sanctity  is  the 
prophet's  tomb,  and  yet  there  is  some  doubt  as  to  whether  he 
is  really  buried  in  the  mosque  raised  to  his  honor ;  of  course 
every  Moslem,  learned  or  ignorant,  believes  it,  but  there  are 
many  arguments  against  the  supposition.^     One  of  these  argu- 

■  These  arguments  may  be  stated  briefly  as  follows : 

1.  A  tumult  followed  the  announcement  of  the  prophet's  death,  and 
Omar  threatened  destruction  to  any  one  who  asserted  it.  Is  it  probable 
that  a  quiet  interment  took  place  ? 

2.  Immediately  after  Mohammed's  death  a  dispute  about  the  suc- 
cession arose,  in  the  ardor  of  which,  according  to  the  Shiahs,  the  house 
of  Ali  and  Fatima,  near  the  present  tomb,  were  threatened  by  fire. 

3.  The  early  Moslems  would  not  be  apt  to  reverence  the  grave  of  the 


48  ARABIA,   THE  CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

ments  alone  would  have  little  value  against  so  old  a  tradition 
and  practice,  but  their  cumulative  force  cannot  be  denied,  and 
throws  serious  doubt  on  the  question  whether  the  present 
mosque  of  the  prophet  contains  any  trace  of  his  remains.  On 
the  other  hand  pious  Moslems  affirm  that  the  prophet  is  not 

prophet,  as  do  those  of  later  date,  when  tradition  has  exalted  him  above 
the  common  humanity.  The  early  Moslems  were  indifferent  as  to  the 
exact  spot. 

4.  The  shape  of  the  prophet's  tomb  was  not  known  in  early  times,  nor 
is  it  given  in  the  traditions ;  so  that  we  find  convex  graves  in  some  lands 
and  flat  in  others, 

5.  The  accounts  of  the  learned  among  the  Moslems  are  discrepant  as 
to  the  burial  of  Mohammed. 

6.  Shiah  schismatics  had  charge  of  the  sepulchre  for  centuries,  and 
because  of  its  proximity  to  the  graves  of  Abubekr  and  Omar,  it  was  in 
their  interest  to  remove  the  body. 

7.  Even  the  present  position  of  the  grave,  with  relation  to  other  graves, 
is  in  dispute,  because  the  tomb-chamber  {Ilnjrak)  is  closely  guarded  by 
eunuchs,  who  do  not  allow  any  one  to  enter. 

8.  The  tale  of  the  blinding  light  which  surrounds  the  prophet's  tomb 
seems  a  plausible  story  to  conceal  a  defect. 

9.  Mohammed  el  Halebi,  the  Sheikh-el  Ulema  of  Damascus,  assured 
Burton  that  he  was  permitted  to  pass  the  door  leading  into  the  tomb- 
chamber,  and  that  he  saw  no  trace  of  a  sepulchre. 

10.  Moslem  historians  admit  that  an  attempt  was  made  in  A.  H.  412 
to  steal  the  bodies  of  Mohammed  and  the  two  companions  by  the  third 
Fatimite  Caliph  of  Egypt;  they  relate  marvels  connected  with  the  failure 
of  the  attempt,  and  assert  that  a  trench  was  dug  deep  all  around  the 
graves  and  filled  with  molten  lead  to  prevent  the  theft  of  the  body. 

11.  In  A.  H.  654  the  mosque  was  destroyed  by  a  volcanic  eruption, 
according  to  the  Moslem  historians,  but  the  tomb-chamber  escaped  all 
damage !  Again  in  A.  H.  887  it  was  struck  by  lightning.  "  On  this 
occasion,"  says  El  Samanhudi  (quoted  by  Burckhardt)  "  the  interior  of  the 
Hujrah  (tomb-chamber)  was  cleared  and  three  deep  graves  were  found  in 
the  inside  full  of  rubbish,  but  the  author  of  this  history,  who  himself 
entered  it,  saw  no  trace  of  tombs."  The  same  author  declared  that  the 
coffin  containing  the  dust  of  Mohammed  was  cased  with  silver. 

12.  Lastly  the  Shiah  and  Sunni  accounts  of  the  prophet's  death  and 
burial  are  contradictory  as  to  the  exact  place  of  burial. 


WE  HOLY  UND  OF  /tRABlA-MEDlhlA 


49 


really  dead,  but  "  eats  and  drinks  in  the  tomb  until  the  day  of 
resurrection,"  and  is  as  much  alive  as  he  ever  was. 

The  Mesjid-el-Nebi  or  prophet's  mosque  at  Medina  is  about 
420  feet  long  by  340  broad.  It  is  built  nearly  north  and  south 
and  has  a  large  interior  courtyard,  surrounded  by  porticoes. 
From  the  western  side  we  enter  the  Rauzah  or  prophet's  garden. 
On  the  north  and  west  it  is  not  divided  from  the  rest  of  the  por- 
tico ;  on  the  south  side  runs  a  dwarf  wall  and  on  the  east  it  is 
bounded  by  the  lattice-work  of  the  Hujrah.  This  is  an  irregu- 
lar square  of  about  fifty  feet  separated  on  all  sides  from  the  walls 
of  the  Mosque  by  a  broad  passage.  Inside  there  are  said  to  be 
three  tombs  carefully  concealed  inside  the  iron  railing  by  a  heavy 
curtain  arranged  like  a  four-post  bed.  The  Hujrah  has  four 
gates,  all  kept  locked  except  the  fourth  which  admits  only  the 
officers  in  charge  of  the  treasure,  the  eunuchs  who  sweep  the 
floor,  light  the  lamps  and  carry  away  the  presents  thrown  into 
the  enclosure  by  devotees.     It  is  commonly  asserted  that  many 


N 

A              1    Mnhnmmprl 

W  — 

P  Abu  bekr 

4ol                1 

3.  Omar 

4.Fatimah 

5.  (The  dotted  space  left  empty 

5  L.:v;.."V. 

.....    N^ 

3q               1 

for  JE5USXNebi  Isa) 

2a               1 

in              1 

. 

REPORTED  ARRANGEMENT  OF  THE  INTERIOR  OF  THE  HUJRAH. 

early  Moslem  saints  and  warriors  desired  the  remaining  space 
for  their  grave,  but  that  by  Mohammed's  wish  it  is  reserved 
for  'Isa  on  his  second  coming  and  death.  The  story  of  a 
coffin  suspended  by  magnets  has  of  course  no  foundation  in 
fact  and  may  have  arisen  from  the  crude  drawings  of  the 
tombs. 


50  ARABIA,   THE  CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

The  ziyarah  at  the  Mosque  consists  in  prayers  and  alms-giv- 
ing with  silent  contemplation  on  the  sacred  character  of  Mo- 
hammed. The  following  sample  "prayer"  offered  at  the 
shrine  of  Fatima,  gives  some  idea  of  what  is  to  Christian  ears 
a  blasphemous  service:  "Peace  be  upon  thee,  O  daughter  of 
the  apostle  of  Allah  !  Thou  mother  of  the  excellent  seed. 
Peace  be  upon  thee  thou  Lady  amongst  women.  Peace  be  upon 
thee,  O  Fifth  of  the  people  of  the  Prophet's  garment !  A  pure 
one,  O  virgin  !  Peace  be  on  thee,  O  spouse  of  our  Lord,  Ali 
el  Murtaza,  O  mother  of  Hasan  and  Hussein,  the  two  Moons, 
the  two  Lights,  the  two  Pearls,  the  two  princes  of  the  youth  of 
Heaven,  the  Coolness  of  the  eyes  of  true  believers  !  etc.,  etc." 
The  prayers  offered  at  the  prophet's  grave  are  more  fulsome  in 
their  praise  and  of  much  greater  length.  What  would  the 
camel-driver  of  Mecca  say  if  he  heard  them  ? 

As  at  Mecca  so  at  Medina  the  townspeople,  one  and  all, 
live  on  the  pilgrims.  The  keeper  of  the  Mosque  is  a  Turkish 
Pasha  with  a  large  salary  and  many  perquisites;  there  are 
treasurers  and  professors  and  clerks  and  sheikhs  of  these  eunuchs 
kept  on  salary.  Sweepers  and  porters,  all  eunuchs,  and  guides 
as  at  Mecca  who  live  by  backsheesh  or  extortion.  Water-car- 
riers here  too  peddle  about  the  brackish  fluid  by  the  cupful  to 
thirsty  pilgrims.  Those  who  are  not  in  the  service  of  the 
Mosque  usually  keep  boarding-houses,  or  sell  prayers  which 
are  to  be  made  once  a  year  at  the  prophet's  tomb,  for  the  absent 
pilgrim.  Most  of  the  officials  receive  their  salaries  from  Con- 
stantinople and  Cairo. 

The  population  of  Medina  is  not  less  a  mixed  multitude 
than  that  of  Mecca ;  here  also  the  observation  of  Zehm  holds 
true,  "every  pilgrimage  brings  new  fathers."  Burton  testifies, 
"It  is  not  to  be  believed  that  in  a  town  garrisoned  by  Turkish 
troops,  full  of  travelled  traders,  and  which  supports  itself  by 
plundering  Hajls  the  primitive  virtues  of  the  Arab  could  exist. 
The  Meccans,  a  dark  people,  say  of  the  Madani,  that  their 
hearts  are  as  black  as  their  skins  are  white.     This  is  of  course 


THE  HOLY  LAND  OF  ARABIA— MEDINA  51 

exaggerated ;  but  it  is  not  too  much  to  assert  that  pride,  pug- 
nacity, a  peculiar  point  of  honor,  and  a  vindictiveness  of  won- 
derful force  and  patience,  are  the  only  characteristic  traits  of 
Arab  character  which  the  citizens  of  El  Medina  habitually  dis- 
play." Intoxicating  liquors  are  made  at  Medina  and  sold,  al- 
though not  openly. 

There  are  two  colleges  with  "  libraries  "  at  Medina  and  many 
mosque-schools.  In  Burckhardt's  day  he  charged  the  town 
with  utter  ignorance  and  illiteracy,  but  now  they  devote  them- 
selves apparently  to  literature,  at  least  in  a  measure. 

The  climate  of  Medina  is  better  than  that  of  Mecca  and  the 
winters  are  cold  and  rigorous.  Mohammed  is  reputed  to  have 
said,  "he  who  patiently  endures  the  cold  of  El  Medina  and 
the  heat  of  Mecca,  merits  a  reward  in  paradise." 

Returning  from  the  lesser  pilgrimage  to  Medina  the  traveller 
can  retrace  his  steps  to  Mecca,  and  thence  to  Jiddah,  or  go  to 
the  nearer  port  of  Yanbo  (Yembo)  and  thence  return  home  by 
steamer  or  sailing-vessel.  The  distance  by  camels'  route,  be- 
tween Medina  and  the  port  is  132  miles,  six  stages,  although  a 
good  dromedary  can  make  it  in  two  days.  At  Yanbo  the 
sultan's  dominions  in  Arabia  begin,  for  the  coast  northward 
pertains  to  Egypt.  The  town  resembles  Jiddah  in  outward 
appearance,  has  400  or  500  houses  built  of  white  coral  rock, 
dirty  streets  and  a  precarious  water  supply.  Sadlier,  (1820) 
after  his  journey  across  the  peninsula,  visited  Yanbo,  and  de- 
scribes it  as  "  a  miserable  Arab  seaport  surrounded  by  a  wall "  ; 
Yanbo  has,  however,  a  good  harbor,  and  was  in  earlier  days,  a 
large  and  important  place ;  it  has  been  identified  with  lambia 
village  on  Ptolemy's  map  a  harbor  of  the  old  Nabateans. 

Thus  ends  our  pilgrimage  through  the  Holy  Land  of  Arabia. 
Let  us  in  conclusion  ponder  the  words  of  Stanley  Lane  Poole 
as  to  the  place  which  Mecca  and  the  pilgrimage  holds  in  the 
Mohammedan  religion.  "It  is  asked  how  the  destroyer  of 
idols  could  have  reconciled  his  conscience  to  the  circuits  of  the 
Kaaba    and  the  veneration  of  the  Black-Stone   covered  with 


55  ARABI/^,  THE  CR/iDLE  OF  ISUM 

adoring  kisses.  The  rites  of  the  pilgrimage  cannot  certainly 
be  defended  against  the  charge  of  superstition ;  but  it  is  easy 
to  see  why  Mohammed  enjoined  them.  .  .  .  He  well 
knew  the  consolidating  effect  of  forming  a  centre  to  which  his 
followers  should  gather,  and  hence  he  reasserted  the  sanctity 
of  the  Black-Stone  that  '  came  down  from  heaven ' ;  he  or- 
dained that  everywhere  throughout  the  world  the  Moslem 
should  pray  looking  toward  the  Kaaba,  and  enjoined  him  to 
make  the  pilgrimage  thither.  Mecca  is  to  the  Moslem  what 
Jerusalem  is  to  the  Jew.  It  bears  with  it  all  the  influence  of 
centuries  of  associations.  It  carries  the  Moslem  back  to  the 
cradle  of  his  faith  and  the  childhood  of  his  prophet. 
And,  most  of  all,  it  bids  him  remember  that  all  his  brother 
Moslems  are  worshipping  toward  the  same  sacred  spot ;  that 
he  is  one  of  a  great  company  of  believers  united  by  one  faith, 
filled  with  the  same  hopes,  reverencing  the  same  thing,  wor- 
shipping the  same  God." 


V 

ADEN    AND    AN    INLAND   JOURNEY 

"  Aden  is  a  valley  surrounded  by  the  sea ;  its  climate  is  so  bad  that  it 
turns  wine  into  vinegar  in  the  space  of  ten  days.  The  water  is  derived 
from  cisterns  and  is  also  brought  in  by  an  aqueduct  two  farsongs  long." 

— Ibn-el-MoJa'wir.     (A.  D.  1200.) 

\  RABIA  is  unfortunate  because,  like  a  chestnut-burr,  its 
'*^*-  exterior  is  rough  and  uninviting.  In  scenery  and  cUmate, 
Yemen  fares  worst  of  all  the  provinces.  The  two  gateways  to 
Arabia  Felix  are  very  infelix.  What  could  be  more  dreary 
and  dull  and  depressing  than  the  "gloomy  hills  of  darkness" 
that  form  the  background  to  Aden  as  seen  from  the  harbor  ? 
There  is  no  verdure,  no  vegetation  visible ;  everywhere  there 
is  the  same  appearance  of  a  cinder  heap.  And  where  can  one 
find  a  more  filthy,  hot,  sweltering,  odorous  native  town  than 
Hodeidah  ?  Yet  these  two  places  are  the  gateways  to  the  most 
beautiful,  fertile,  populous  and  healthful  region  of  all  Arabia. 

Yemen  is  best  known  of  all  the  provinces,  and  has  been 
quite  thoroughly  explored  by  a  score  of  intrepid  travellers.* 
Most  people,  however,  travelling  in  a  P.  and  O.  Steamer,  call- 
ing at  Aden  for  coal,  remain  in  total  ignorance  of  the  fair 
highlands  just  beyond  the  dark  hills  that  hide  the  horizon. 

'  Niebuhr,  1763  ;  Seetzen,  1810;  Cruttenden,  1836;  Dr.  Wolff,  1836; 
Owen,  1857;  Botta,  1837;  Passama,  1842;  Arnaud,  1843;  Van  Maltzan, 
1871;  Halvey,  1870;  Millingen,  1874;  Renzo  Manzoni,  1879;  Glaser, 
1880;  Defler,  1888;  Haig,  1889;  Harris,  1892;  and  later  travellers. 
Defler  is  the  authority  on  the  flora,  Glaser  on  the  antiquities,  Manzoni  on 
the  Turks  and  their  government,  Haig  on  the  agricultural  population, 
and  Harris  tells  of  the  recent  rebellions.  Niebuhr's  magnificent  volumes 
are  still  good  authority  on  the  geography  and  natural  history  of  Yemen. 

53 


54  /ARABIA,    THE   CRADLE   OF  ISLAM 

Yemen  extends  from  Aden  to  Asir  on  the  north  and  eastward 
into  Hadramaut  for  an  indefinite  distance.  On  the  earher 
maps  Arabia  Felix  stretched  as  far  as  Oman — a  great  moun- 
tainous region  with  a  temperate  climate.  An  Arabian  author, 
describing  Yemen  as  it  was  before  the  time  of  Mohammed, 
wrote:  "Its  inhabitants  are  all  hale  and  strong,  sickness  is 
unknown,  nor  are  there  poisonous  plants  or  animals ;  nor  fools, 
nor  blind  people,  and  the  women  are  ever  young ;  the  climate 
is  like  paradise  and  one  wears  the  same  garment  summer  and 
winter." 

The  massive  rock  promontory  of  volcanic  basalt  called  Aden, 
has  from  time  immemorial  been  the  gateway  and  the  strong- 
hold for  all  Yemen.  It  is  generally  agreed  that  Ezekiel,  the 
prophet,  referred  to  Aden  when  he  wrote:  "  Haran  and 
Canneh  and  Eden,  the  merchants  of  Sheba,  Asshur  and  Chil- 
mad,  were  thy  merchants."  The  place  was  fortified  and  its 
wonderful  rock  cisterns  were  probably  first  constructed  by 
the  early  Himyarites.  A  Christian  church  was  erected  at 
Aden  by  the  embassy  of  the  Emperor  Constantius,  a.  d.  342, 
and  Aden  was  for  a  long  time  in  the  hands  of  the  Christian 
kings  of  Yemen.  Then  it  fell  a  prey  to  the  Abyssinians  and 
next  to  the  Persians,  about  the  time  when  Mohammed  was  born. 
Albuquerque  in  15 13  with  his  Portuguese  warriors  laid  siege  to 
Aden  for  four  days,  but  in  spite  of  scaling-ladders  and  gun- 
powder could  not  take  the  town.  The  Mameluke  Sultans  of 
Egypt  also  failed  to  capture  this  fortress.  In  1838  the  English 
took  it  by  storm  and  have  held  the  place  ever  since. 

Aden  is  now  a  British  settlement,  a  commercial-centre,  a 
coaling-station  and  a  fortress ;  the  last  most  emphatically.  All 
the  latest  improvements  in  engineering  and  artillery  have  been 
put  to  use  in  fortifying  the  place.  The  ride  from  Steamer- 
Point  to  "the  crater"  or  from  the  telegraph-station  to  the 
"  Crescent  "  gives  one  some  idea  of  the  vast  amount  of  money 
and  labor  expended  to  shape  this  Gibraltar  and  make  it  im- 
pregnable  from  land  and  sea.     The  isthmus  is  guarded  by 


ADEN  AND  AN  INLAND  JOURNEY  55 

massive  lines  of  defence,  strengthened  by  a  broad  ditch  cut 
out  of  the  solid  rock  ;  bastions,  casements  and  tunnels  all  serve 
one  purpose ;  batteries,  towers,  arsenals,  magazines,  barracks ; 
mole-batteries  toward  the  sea,  mines  in  the  harbor,  obstruction 
piers  and  subservient  works ; — everything  tells  of  military 
strength,  and  the  town  has  always  a  warlike  aspect  in  perfect 
accord  with  its  forbidding  physical  geography. 

The  inhabited  peninsula  is  an  irregular  oval  about  fifteen 
miles  in  circumference ;  it  is  in  reality  a  large  extinct  crater 
formed  of  lofty  precipitous  hills  the  highest  peak  of  which, 
Shem  Shem,  has  an  altitude  of  nearly  i,8oo  feet.  The 
varieties  of  rock  are  numerous,  and  vary  in  color  from 
light  brown  to  dark  green.  Pumice  and  tufas  are  very  com- 
mon ;  the  former  is  an  article  of  export.  Water  is  very  scarce, 
and  there  is  almost  no  rainfall  during  some  years.  When 
there  is  a  shower,  the  nature  of  the  soil  and  the  immense  water- 
shed for  so  small  an  area  cause  heavy  torrents  to  pour  down 
the  valleys.  These  rare  occasions  are  utilized  to  fill  the  huge 
tanks  near  Aden  camp.  The  tanks  were  built  as  early  as  600 
A.  D.  by  the  Yemenites  who  built  besides  the  celebrated  dam  at 
Marib,  and  the  many  similar  structures  in  various  parts  of 
Yemen.  Water  is  also  brought  by  an  aqueduct  from  Sheikh 
Othman,  seven  miles  distant,  but  the  majority  of  the  popula- 
tion is  supplied  from  the  government  condensers.  In  spite  of 
the  desert  character  of  the  soil  and  the  aridity  of  the  climate 
Aden  is  not  entirely  without  natural  vegetation.  Thomas 
Anderson  of  the  Bengal  Medical  Service  enumerates  ninety- 
four  species  of  plants  found  on  the  Aden  peninsula,  some  of 
which  are  entirely  unique.  Most  of  the  plants,  however,  are 
desert-dwellers  with  sharp  thorns,  an  aromatic  odor,  and  yield 
gums  and  resins. 

The  Aden  settlement  has  four  centres  of  population ;  Steamer- 
Point,  the  Crescent,  the  town  of  Maala  and  the  "Camp"  or 
Aden  proper.  A  road,  the  only  road  in  fact,  extends  from 
Steamer-Point  on  the  west  to  Aden  proper  on  the  east,  and  no 


56  /ARABIA,   THE  CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

one  can  boast  of  having  seen  Aden  who  has  not  taken  the  ride 
in  a  geri  from  the  landing-pier  to  the  tanks.  The  Aden  horses 
are  of  all  creatures  most  miserable  for  the  geri-drivers  whip  their 
horses  much,  but  feed  them  little.  The  Crescent  is  a  semi- 
circular range  of  houses  and  shops  crowded  against  the  moun- 
tain side;  with  a  Hotel  de  I'Univers  and  a  Hotel  de  I'Europe 
(both  equally  "  Grand  ") ;  cafes,  shops,  banks,  and  offices.  The 
post  office,  hospital,  churches  and  barracks  are  further  west 
toward  the  telegraph-station.  A  drive  of  about  two  miles 
brings  us  to  the  native  town  of  Maala.  Here  the  road  forks, 
the  lower  one  leading  to  the  barrier-gate  and  Sheikh  Othman, 
and  the  upper  ascending  the  mountain  through  the  gate  of  the 
fortifications  and  by  a  sharp  declivity  leading  down  to  the  town 
of  Aden.  It  is  not  an  Oriental  town  in  its  administration,  but 
it  has  all  the  motley  character  of  Port  Said  on  its  streets. 
Europeans,  Americans,  Africans,  Asiatics  and  mixed  races  are 
all  represented  in  the  crowd  of  the  market  or  the  loungers  in 
the  streets.  The  total  population  is  30,000,  including  Chinese, 
Persians,  Turks,  Egyptians,  Somalis,  Hindus,  Parsees,  Jews 
and  Arabs  from  every  part  of  the  peninsula.  Aden  is  a  great 
centre  for  native  shipping,  and  the  dhows  and  buggalows  that 
sail  every  year  from  the  Persian  Gulf  to  Yemen  and  Jiddah 
alway  call  at  Aden  en  route.  Also  from  Oman  and  Hadramaut 
the  modern  Sinbads  run  their  craft  into  Aden  to  exchange 
produce  or  to  lay  in  supplies  for  their  voyages  to  the  coast  of 
Africa. 

The  distance  from  Aden  to  Yemen's  old  capital,  Sana  is 
nearly  200  miles  in  a  direct  line,  but  on  my  second  journey 
thither,  in  1894,  I  was  obliged  to  take  a  roundabout  journey 
to  Taiz,  because  of  an  Arab  uprising.  This  and  the  moun- 
tainous character  of  the  country  made  the  distance  over  250 
miles.  This  route  passes  through,  or  near,  all  the  important 
towns  of  Yemen  south  of  Sana. 

With  my  Bedouin  companion,  Nasir,  I  left  Sheikh  Othman 
early  on  the  second  morning  of  July.     We  reached  a  small 


TRAVELLING    IN    SOUTHERN    ARABIA 


rf?^k'- 


Win*: 


THE    KEITH    FALCONER    MEMORIAL   CHURCH    IN   ADEN 


/IDEN  AND  AN  INLAND  JOURNEY  57 

village,  Wahat,  at  noon,  the  thermometer  registering  96°  in  the 
shade.  After  a  short  rest  we  mounted  the  camels  at  seven 
o'clock  in  the  evening  for  an  all-night  journey.  Our  course 
was  through  a  barren  region,  and  at  daylight  we  entered  Wady 
Mergia,  with  scanty  vegetation,  resting  at  a  village  of  the  same 
name  under  a  huge  acacia  tree.  The  next  day  we  entered  the 
'  mountains,  where  rich  vegetation  showed  a  cooler  climate.  We 
passed  several  villages,  Dar  El  Kadim,  Khoteibah,  Suk-el-Juma 
and  others.  As  this  was  said  to  be  a  dangerous  part  of  the  road 
all  the  caravan,  which  we  joined  at  Wahat,  was  on  the  look- 
out, with  lighted  rope-wicks  for  their  flint-locks  swinging  from 
their  shoulders  and  looking  in  the  dark  like  so  many  fireflies.  At 
three  a.  m.  we  had  ascended  to  the  head  of  the  wady  and  rested 
for  the  day  at  Mabek.  All  the  houses  here  are  of  stone,  the 
booths  of  date-mats  and  twigs  being  only  found  on  the  maritime 
plain  of  Yemen.  During  the  night  there  had  been  talk  among 
the  wild  Arabs  of  the  village  of  holding  me  as  a  hostage  to 
obtain  money  from  the  English  at  Aden  !  But  Nasir  quieted 
them  with  a  threefold  Bedouin  oath  that  I  was  not  a  govern- 
ment official  nor  an  Englishman,  but  an  American  traveller. 

The  day  after  leaving  Mabek  brought  us  to  the  beginning  of 
the  happy  valleys  of  Yemen,  very  different  from  the  torrid 
coast.  A  country  where  the  orange,  lemon,  quince,  grape, 
mango,  plum,  apricot,  peach,  apple,  pomegranate,  fig,  date, 
plantain  and  mulberry,  each  yield  their  fruit  in  season  ;  where 
wheat,  barley,  maize,  millet  and  coffee  are  staple  products  and 
where  there  is  a  glorious  profusion  of  wild  flowers — called 
"grass  "  by  the  unpoetic  camel-drivers.  A  land  whose  moun- 
tains lift  up  their  heads  over  9,000  feet,  terraced  from 
chilly  top  to  warm  valley  with  agricultural  amphitheatres, 
irrigated  by  a  thousand  rills  and  rivulets,  some  of  them  peren- 
nial, flowing  along  artificial  channels  or  leaping  down  the  rocks 
in  miniature  falls.  A  land  where  the  oriole  hangs  her  nest  on 
the  dark  acacia,  the  wild  doves  hide  in  clefts  of  the  rock  and 
the  chameleon  sports  his  colors  by  the  wayside  under  the  tall 


58  ARABIA,    THE   CRADLE   OF  ISLAM 

flowering  cactus.  Such  is  Yemen.  The  vegetation  of  Arabia 
Felix  begins  just  before  reaching  Mufallis,  on  this  route,  where 
a  Turkish  castle  and  customhouse  proclaim  the  boundary  of 
Ottoman  aggression. 

Beautiful  was  the  air  and  scenery  on  our  march.  Arab 
peasants  were  at  work  in  the  fields,  plowing  ^  with  oxen,  repair- 
ing the  walls  of  the  terraces  and  opening  the  water-courses. 
The  women  were  all  unveiled  and  had  the  picturesque  cos- 
tume universal  in  southern  Yemen ;  their  narrow  trousers  were 
fastened  at  the  waist  and  ankles,  while  over  their  shoulders 
hung  long  mantle-like  garments,  low  in  the  neck,  girded,  and 
fringed  at  the  bottom  with  embroidered  cloth  of  green  or  red. 
Here  they  wear  a  kind  of  light  turban,  but  on  the  Hodeidah 
coast  broad-brimmed  straw  hats  cover  the  heads  of  the  Yemen 
belles  as  they  urge  their  donkeys  to  market. 

At  sunrise  we  were  in  sight  of  the  highest  peaks  to  the  left  of 
the  wady-bed.  One  of  them  is  crowned  by  a  walli  or  saint's- 
tomb  of  Saled  bin  Taka.  These  tombs  are  common  in  Yemen 
and  thousands  of  people  visit  them  annually  to  ask  intercession, 
each  saint  having  a  special  day  in  the  Moslem  calendar.  At 
Mocha  the  grave  of  the  Arab  sheikh  Abu-el-Hassan  Shadeli, 
who  first  discovered  the  use  of  coffee,  is  highly  honored  by  dis- 
tant pilgrims. 

At  eight  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  July  fourth  we  reached 
the  burj  called  Mufallis  and  had  our  first  experience  of  Turkish 
rule  in  Yemen.  Unexpectedly  we  here  stumbled  upon  a 
Turkish  customhouse,  which  I  had  thought  was  located  at 
Taiz,  as  the  boundary  of  Turkish  Yemen  on  my  maps  did  not 
extend  further  south.  An  unmannerly  negro,  calling  himself 
Mudeer  of  Customs,  looked  out  of  a  port-hole  and  demanded, 
my  ascent.  Through  dirt  and  up  darkness  I  reached  his  little 
room  and  stated  my  errand  and  purpose.     No  kind  words  or 

'  The  Yemen  plow  is  shaped  like  an  English  plow  in  many  respects ; 
although  it  has  only  one  handle  its  coulter  is  broad  and  made  of  iron,  a 
great  improvement  over  the  crooked  stick  of  Mesopotamia. 


ADEN  AND  AN  INLAND  JOURNEY  59 

offered  backsheesh  would  avail;  ''all  the  baggage  must  be 
opened  and  a/l  books  were  forbidden  entrance  into  Yemen  by 
a  recent  order,"  so  he  affirmed.  First,  therefore,  I  unscrewed 
the  covers  of  the  two  boxes  with  an  old  bowie-knife.  The 
books,  after  having  been  critically  examined  by  eyes  that  could 
not  read,  were  seized  ;  next  my  saddle-bags  were  searched,  and 
every  book  and  map  was  also  confiscated.  I  was  refused  even 
a  receipt  for  the  books  taken,  and  to  every  plea  or  question  the 
only  reply  was,  to  go  on  to  Taiz  and  appeal  to  the  Governor. 

Despoiled  of  our  goods,  we  left  the  "customhouse"  at 
eleven  A.  m.,  taking  an  old  man  on  a  donkey  armed  with  a 
spear,  as  guide  and  defence,  because  Nasir  heard  that  there  was 
disturbance  in  this  quarter.  At  two  o'clock  we  rested  for  half 
an  hour  under  the  shade  of  a  huge  rock  in  the  bed  of  the 
wady,  and  then  warned  by  peals  of  thunder,  we  hastened  on, 
hoping  to  reach  Hirwa  before  dark.  In  less  than  an  hour,  how- 
ever, the  sky  was  black,  rain  fell  in  torrents,  and  we  found  it 
hopeless  to  attempt  to  urge  the  slow  camels  on  through  the 
wady.  There  was  no  shelter  in  sight,  so  we  crouched  under  a 
small  tree  halfway  up  the  mud  bank.  The  rain  turned  to  hail 
— large  stones  that  frightened  the  camels  so  that  they  stam- 
peded— and  we  became  thoroughly  chilled. 

When  the  storm  ceased,  our  donkey  man  came  with  looks  of 
horror  to  tell  us  that  his  poor  beast  had  fallen  down  the  slope 
and  was  being  swept  away  by  the  torrent !  What  had  been  a 
dry  river  bed  half  an  hour  before,  was  now  a  rushing  rapids. 
We  decided  to  climb  up  the  terraces  to  a  house  which  we  saw 
on  the  mountain  side.  The  camels  had  preceded  us,  and  after 
a  vigorous  climb  over  mud-fields  and  up  the  rocks  we  reached 
the  house  and  hospitality  of  Sheikh  Ali.  Over  the  charcoal 
fire,  after  drinking  plenty  of  kishr,  (made  from  the  shell  of  the 
coffee  bean,)  we  had  to  listen  to  a  long  discussion  concerning 
the  lost  donkey.  Finally,  matters  were  smoothed  over  by  my 
offering  to  pay  one-half  the  price  of  the  animal  on  condition 
that  our  guide  should  proceed  with  us  to  Hirwa. 


60  ARABIA,    THE   CRADLE   OF  ISLAM 

The  next  day  we  were  off  early.  Because  of  the  steep  ascents 
I  was  obliged  to  walk  most  of  the  way,  and  I  sprained  my  ankle 
severely.  It  did  not  pain  me  until  night,  when  it  was  swollen 
and  kept  me  "on  crutches"  for  several  days.  Hirwa  is  a 
small  Arab  village  with  a  weekly  market,  and  we  found  shelter 
in  the  usual  coffee-shop  characteristic  of  Yemen.  The  follow- 
ing day  we  reached  Sept  Ez  zei/ah,  where  we  found  cleaner 
quarters  than  the  night  before.  At  about  midnight  a  war  party 
of  Bedouins  came  and  frightened  the  peaceful  villagers  with  de- 
mands for  food,  etc.  They  had  just  returned  from  setting  fire 
to  a  small  castle,  and,  numbering  sixty  hungry  men,  were  not 
to  be  intimidated.  They  were  about  to  force  their  way  into 
our  quarters  when  Nasir  and  the  women  promised  to  give  them 
food.  Within,  I  kept  quiet  and  listened  to  the  noise  of  grind- 
ing and  baking  and  coffee-pounding.  Without,  some  of  the 
Arabs  seized  a  cow  belonging  to  a  poor  woman  and  butchered 
it  for  their  feast.  At  this  there  was  a  crying  of  women  and 
barking  of  dogs  and  swearing  of  oaths  by  the  Great  Allah,  such 
as  I  hope  never  to  hear  again.  Finally,  the  Arabs  went  away 
with  full  stomachs,  and  we  slept  a  broken  sleep  for  fear  they 
might  return.  The  next  day  we  proceeded  to  Taiz,  and  ar- 
rived at  noon,  one  week  after  leaving  Aden. 

The  Mutasarrif  Pasha,  or  Governor,  was  satisfied  with  my 
passports,  and  expressed  his  regrets  that  the  books  had  been 
seized  at  Mufallis,  but  such  was  the  law.  He  would,  however, 
allow  me  to  send  for  them  for  inspection.  What  is  written 
here  in  four  lines  was  the  work  and  patience  of  four  weary 
days  !  A  soldier  was  sent  to  Mufallis  ;  I  was  obliged  to  entrust 
him  with  money  to  pay  the  custom  dues ;  to  hire  a  camel  to 
carry  the  books ;  finally  to  pay  for  two  sticks  of  sealing  wax 
(price  in  Taiz  one  rupee)  with  which  to  seal  the  books  and 
maps  lest  they  be  tampered  with — all  this  at  the  order  of  the 
enlightened  government  of  the  Sublime  Porte  !  The  first  mes- 
senger never  reached  Mufallis  ;  on  the  road  he  was  attacked  by 
Arabs,  stabbed  in  the  neck,  robbed  of  his  rifle,  and  carried 


ADEN  AND  AN  INLAND  JOURNEY  61 

back  to  the  military  hospital  at  Taiz.  Then  there  was  more 
delay  to  find  and  send  a  second  soldier  with  the  same  camel 
and  money  and  sealing  wax,  but  with  a  new  rifle.  He  returned 
with  the  books  safely  after  five  days  !  No  Turk  could  set  a 
value  on  a  book,  and  so  the  law  is  that  books  are  taxed  by 
weight,  boxes  included.  The  customs  receipt  was  attached  for 
"200  kilograms  Jewish  books  (at  twenty  piastres  a  kilo.), 
value,  4,000  piastres,  and  custom  dues  amounting  to  288 
piastres."  In  the  same  document  I  was  spoken  of  as  "the 
Jew,  Ishmail,  Dhaif  Ullah," — a  rather  curious  combination  of 
names.  I  was  called  a  "Jew  "  because  of  the  case  of  Hebrew 
New  Testaments ;  Ishmail  was  the  equivalent  for  Samuel ;  and 
Dhaif  Ullah,  my  Arabic  cognomen. 


VI 

YEMEN  :  THE  SWITZERLAND  OF  ARABIA 

"  If  the  Turks  would  dear  out  of  Yemen,  a  wonderful  field  for  com- 
merce would  be  thrown  open,  for  the  Turkish  government  is  vile  and  all 
cultivators  are  taxed  to  an  iniquitous  extent." — Ion  Keith  Falconer. 

"IT /"HILE  waiting  at  Taiz  I  had  an  opportunity  to  study 
*  Yemen  town  life  and  the  system  of  government,  as 
well  as  to  learn  a  little  about  the  cultivation  of  coffee  and  kaat, 
the  two  chief  products  of  this  part  of  Yemen. 

Taiz  has  not  often  been  visited  by  travellers  from  the  Occi- 
dent, and  is  a  most  interesting  place.  It  is  a  large  fortified 
village  of  perhaps  5,000  inhabitants,  the  residence  of  a  Muta- 
sarrif  whose  authority  extends  from  the  province  of  Hodeidah 
to  the  Aden  frontier  including  Mocha  and  Sheikh  Seyyid  on 
the  coast,  recently  abandoned  by  France.  The  place  has  five 
gates,  one  of  which  has  been  walled  up,  and  five  large  mosques 
in  Byzantine  style.  The  largest  Mosque  is  called  El  Muzafer, 
and  has  two  large  minarets  and  twelve  beautiful  domes.  Taiz 
was  once  a  centre  of  learning  and  its  libraries  were  celebrated 
all  over  Arabia.  Firozabadi,  the  Noah  Webster  of  the  Arabic 
language,  taught  in  Taiz  and  edited  his  "Ocean"  dictionary 
there.  He  died  at  the  neighboring  town  of  Zebid,  in  1414  a.  d., 
and  his  grave  is  honored  by  the  learned  of  Yemen. 

The  bazaar  is  not  large,  but  the  four  European  shops  kept  by 
Greek  merchants  are  well  supplied  with  all  ordinary  articles  of 
civilization.  One  public  bath,  in  splendid  condition,  and  a 
military  hospital  show  Ottoman  occupation.  The  fort  holds 
perhaps  1,300  soldiers  and  the  residence  of  the  Mutasarrif  is 
in  a  beautiful  and  comfortable  little  building  outside  of  the  town. 

62 


YEMEN:    THE  SIVITZERLAND  OF  ARABIA  G3 

The  mosques  were  once  grand  but  are  now  ruined  and  a  home 
for  bats ;  the  famous  hbraries  have  disappeared  and  the  sub- 
terannean  vaults  of  the  largest  Mosque  formerly  used  as  por- 
ticoes for  pupils  are  now  Turkish  horse-stables.  There  is  a  post 
office  and  telegraph ;  the  post  goes  once  a  week  to  Hodeidah 
via  Zebid  and  Beit  el  Fakih,  and  the  telegraph  in  the  same  di- 
rection a  little  more  rapidly  when  the  wires  are  in  order. 

Taiz  is  girt  around  by  Jebel  Sobr,  the  highest  range  of 
mountains  in  southern  Yemen.  Hisn  Aroos  peak,  near  the 
town,  has  an  elevation  of  over  7,000  feet.  According  to 
Niebuhr  and  Defler,  on  a  clear  day  one  can  look  from  the  sum- 
mit of  this  peak  across  the  lowlands  and  the  Red  Sea  into 
Africa.  I  was  unable  to  reach  the  summit  as  my  Arab  guide 
failed  me  and  the  days  were  misty  and  frequent  rains  fell. 

Taiz  is  the  centre  of  kaat-culture  for  all  Yemen,  and  coffee 
comes  here  on  its  way  to  Hodeidah  or  Aden.  Amid  all  the 
wealth  of  vegetation  and  fruitage  every  plant  seems  familiar  to 
.  the  tourist  save  kaat.  It  is  a  shrub  whose  very  name  is  un- 
known outside  of  Yemen,  while  there  it  is  known  and  used  by 
every  mother's  son,  as  well  as  by  the  mothers  and  daughters 
themselves.  Driving  from  Aden  to  Sheikh  Othman,  one  first 
learns  the  fiaf?ie.  Why  are  those  red  flags  hoisted  near  the 
police  stations,  at  intervals  on  the  road,  and  why  are  they 
hauled  down  as  soon  as  those  camels  pass  ?  Oh,  they  are  tak- 
ing loads  of  kaat  for  the  Aden  market,  and  the  flags  are  to 
prevent  cheating  of  the  customs.  Over  2,000  camel  loads  come 
into  Aden  every  year,  and  each  load  passes  through  English 
territory  by  "block-signal"  system,  for  it  is  highly  taxed.  As 
to  its  use,  step  into  a  kahwah  in  any  part  of  Yemen  shortly  be- 
fore sunset,  and  you  will  see  Arabs  each  with  a  bundle  of 
green  twigs  in  his  lap,  chewing  at  the  leaves  of  kaat. 

At  Taiz  I  first  had  an  opportunity  to  meet  the  Jews  of  the 
interior  of  Yemen.  Altogether  they  number  perhaps  60,000  in 
the  whole  province.  They  live  mostly  in  the  large  towns  and  very 
few  are  agriculturists.     They  are  a  despised  and  down-trodden 


64  ARABIA,   THE   CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

race,  but  they  say  at  Sana,  that  their  condition  is  not  so  bad 
under  the  Turks  as  it  was  under  the  Arab  rulers  before  1871, 
The  accounts  of  their  origin  are  discrepant.  Some  say  they 
are  descended  from  the  Jews  of  the  Dispersion,  but  others 
hold  that  they  were  immigrants  from  the  North  over  900 
years  ago.  They  are  more  cleanly,  more  intelligent  and  more 
trustworthy  than  the  Arabs ;  and  although  they  are  out  of  all 
communication  with  the  rest  of  the  world  and  in  ignorance  of 
their  European  countrymen  they  are  not  ignorant  of  Hebrew 
and  rabbinic  learning.  Their  synagogue  near  Taiz  is  a  low 
stone  building,  twenty-five  by  fifteen  feet.  For  furniture  it  has 
only  a  few  curtains  of  embroidered  texts,  a  printed  diagram  of 
the  ancient  candlestick,  with  the  names  of  the  twelve  tribes, 
and  a  high  reading-desk.  Such  are  all  the  synagogues  of 
Yemen. 

At  Taiz  the  Jews  seemed  to  have  grown  content  under  long 
centuries  of  oppression  and  taxation.  Many  of  the  old 
Moslem  laws  against  infidels,  such  as  those  forbidding  them  to 
ride,  to  carry  weapons  or  wear  fine  clothes  in  public,  are  still 
rigorously  enforced  by  custom  if  not  by  the  government.  The 
Jew  is  universally  despised,  yet  he  cannot  be  spared,  for  nearly 
all  artisan  work  is  in  Jewish  hands.  The  Moslem  Arab  has 
learned  nothing  from  the  Jew  outside  of  the  Koran  ;  but,  alas! 
the  Jew  has  imbibed  many  foolish  customs  and  superstitions 
foreign  to  his  creed  from  Islam. 

When  the  Hebrew  Scriptures  reached  Taiz  I  was  again  dis- 
appointed, for  the  Governor  would  not  permit  the  boxes  to  be 
opened,  but  they  were  to  be  sent  sealed  and  under  guard  to 
Sana.  I  afterward  learned  that  the  "guard"  was  for  me  as 
well  as  the  books,  and  that  the  soldier  carried  a  letter  with  this 
accusation  written  :  "This  is  a  converted  Jew,  who  is  corrupt- 
ing the  religion  of  Islam,  and  sells  books  to  Moslems  and 
Jews."  I  had  no  alternative  but  to  proceed  to  Sana;  taking 
a  Damar  Arab  as  servant,  having  dismissed  the  Aden  camels. 

I  left  Taiz  on  a  mule  July  26th,  and  arrived  at  Seyanee  the 


YEMEN:   THE  SH^ITZERL/IND  OF  ARABIA  65 

same  day.  The  following  night  we  reached  Ibb.  Here  I  was 
forced  to  lodge  outside  of  the  town,  as  the  guard  had  in- 
structions not  to  let  me  "see  things."  I  endured  this  im- 
patiently, until  I  learned  that  our  servant  had  been  imprisoned 
on  our  arrival  because  he  told  me  the  names  of  the  villages  on 
the  route  !  I  then  appealed  to  the  Mayor,  and  on  virtue  of  my 
passports  demanded  the  right  of  going  about  the  town  and  the 
release  of  my  servant.  After  some  delay,  both  requests  were 
granted.  The  incident  is  one  of  many  to  show  the  suspicion 
with  which  a  stranger  is  regarded  by  the  authorities  in  Yemen. 
On  Saturday  the  soldier  and  I  hastened  on  to  reach  the  large 
town  of  Yerim  before  Sunday,  and  rest  there,  waiting  for  the 
baggage  camel.  It  was  a  long  ride  of  twelve  hours,  but 
through  a  delightful  country  everywhere  fertile  and  terraced 
with  coffee  plantations  and  groves  of  kaat. 

Yerim,  with  perhaps  300  houses,  lies  in  a  hollow  of  the 
Sumara  range  of  mountains.  It  has  a  fortress  and  some  houses 
of  imposing  appearance,  but  the  general  aspect  of  the  town  is 
miserable.  A  neighboring  marsh  breeds  malaria,  and  the  place 
is  proverbially  unhealthy  in  this  otherwise  salubrious  region. 
Niebuhr's  botanist,  Forskal,  died  here  on  their  journey  in  1763. 
The  road  from  Ibb  to  Yerim  has  perhaps  the  finest  scenery  of 
any  part  of  Yemen ;  never  have  I  seen  more  picturesque 
mountains  and  valleys,  green  with  verdure  and  bright  with 
blossoms.  Scabiosa,  bluebells,  forget-me-nots,  golden-rod, 
four-o' clocks  and  large  oleander-trees  — 

"AH  earth  was  full  of  heaven 
And  every  bush  afire  with  God." 

The  cacti-plants  were  in  full  bloom,  and  measured  twenty 
feet  against  the  mountain  passes.  Two  thousand  feet  below 
one  could  hear  the  sound  of  the  water  rushing  along  the  wady- 
bed  or  disappearing  under  the  bridges  that  span  the  valleys. 
While  high  above,  the  clouds  were  half  concealing  the  summit 
of  the  "  Gazelle  Neck  "  (Unk  el-Gazel). 


66  ARABIA,   THE   CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

Sunday,  July  29th,  was  a  cold  day  at  Yerim ;  early  in  the 
morning  the  temperature  went  down  to  52°,  and  at  night  two 
blankets  were  needed.  Not  until  nine  o'clock  was  it  warm 
enough  for  the  Yerim  merchants  to  open  their  shops. 

A  Jewish  family,  en  route  for  Taiz,  were  stopping  with  us  at 
the  caravansari,  and  at  night  I  spoke  for  over  two  hours  with 
them  and  the  Arabs  about  Christ.  There  was  no  interruption, 
and  I  was  impressed  to  see  the  interest  of  a  Jew  and  Arab 
alike  in  what  I  told  them  from  Isaiah  liii.,  reading  it  in  Arabic 
by  the  dim  candle  light,  amidst  all  the  baggage  and  beasts  of 
an  Oriental  inn.  At  the  little  village  of  Khader,  eight  miles 
from  Waalan,  angry  words  arose  from  the  "guard"  be- 
cause I  tried  to  speak  to  a  Jew.  When  I  spoke  in  protest 
they  began  to  strike  the  Jew  with  the  butt  end  of  their  rifles,* 
and  when  the  poor  fellow  fled,  my  best  defence  was  silence. 
On  my  return  journey,  I  inadvertently  raised  trouble  again,  by 
mentioning  that  Jesus  Christ  and  Moses  -were  Jews — which  the 
Arabs  considered  an  insult  to  the  prophets  of  God. 

On  the  road  beyond  Yerim  we  passed  a  large  boulder  with 
an  irregular  impression  on  one  side.  This  is  called  All's  foot- 
print, and  the  Arabs  who  pass  always  anoint  it  with  oil.  The 
steep  ascents  and  descents  of  the  journey  were  now  behind 
us.  From  Yerim  on  to  Sana  the  plateau  is  more  level.  Wide 
fields  of  lentils,  barley  and  wheat  take  the  place  of  the  groves 
of  kaat  and  coffee;  camels  were  used  for  ploughing,  and 
with  their  long  necks  and  curious  harness,  were  an  odd  sight. 

The  next  halt  we  made  was  at  Damar,  8,000  feet  above  sea- 
level.  It  is  a  large  town,  with  three  minaret-mosques  and  a 
/arge  bazaar;  the  houses  are  of  native  rock,  three  and  four- 
stories  high,  remarkably  clean  and  well-built.  Inside  they  are 
whitewashed,  and  have  the  Yemen  translucent  slabs  of  gypsum 

'  It  was  not  pleasant  for  an  American  to  notice  that  nearly  all  the 
Turkish  rifles  in  Yemen  were  "  Springfield  1861."  The  same  weapons 
that  were  employed  to  break  the  chains  of  slavery  in  the  southern  states, 
are  now  used  to  oppress  the  peaceful  Yemenites. 


YEMEN:    THE  SIVITZERLAND  OF  ARABIA  67 

for  window-panes.  From  Damar  the  road  leads  northeast 
over  Maaber  and  the  Kariet  en-Nekil  pass  to  Waalan ;  thence, 
nearly  due  north,  to  Sana.  From  Damar  to  Waalan  is  thirty- 
five  miles,  and  thence  to  the  capital,  eighteen  miles  more. 
The  roads  near  the  city  of  Sana  are  kept  in  good  repair, 
although  there  are  no  wheeled  vehicles,  for  the  sake  of  the 
Turkish  artillery. 

On  Thursday,  August  2d,  we  entered  Sana  by  the  Yemen 
gate.  Three  years  before  I  had  entered  the  city  from  the  other 
side,  coming  from  Hodeidah ;  then  in  the  time  of  the  Arab 
rebellion  and  now  myself  a  prisoner.  I  was  taken  to  the 
Dowla  and  handed  over  to  the  care  of  a  policeman  until  the 
Wali  heard  my  case.  After  finding  an  old  Greek  friend  from 
Aden,  who  offered  to  go  bail  for  me,  I  was  allowed  liberty,  and 
for  nineteen  days  was  busy  seeing  the  city  and  visiting  the 
Jews.^ 

Sana,  anciently  called  Uzal,  and  since  many  centuries  the 
chief  city  of  Yemen,  contains  some  50,000  inhabitants  and  lies 
stretched  out  in  a  wide,  level  valley  between  Jebel  Nokoom 
and  the  neighboring  ranges.  It  is  7,648  feet  above  sea-level. 
The  town  is  in  the  form  of  a  triangle,  the  eastern  point  consist- 
ing of  a  large  fortress,  dominating  the  town,  and  built  upon  the 
lowest  spur  of  Nokoom.  The  town  is  divided  into  three  walled 
quarters,  the  whole  being  surrounded  by  one  continuous  wall 
of  stone  and  brick.  They  are  respectively  the  city  proper,  in 
which  are  the  government  buildings,  the  huge  bazaars,  and  the 
residences  of  the  Arabs  and  Turks  ;  the  Jews'  quarter ;  and 
Bir-el-azib,  which  lies  between  the  two,  and  contains  gardens 
and  villas  belonging  to  the  richer  Turks  and  Arabs.  The  city 
had  once  great  wealth  and  prosperity,  and  to-day  remains, 
next  to  Bagdad,  the  most  flourishing  city  in  all  Arabia.  The 
shops   are  well  supplied  with  European  goods,   and  a  large 

•  Of  the  work  among  the  latter,  and  my  experiences  in  distributing  the 
New  Testament,  a  report  was  published  by  the  Mildmay  Mission;  we 
therefore  omit  reference  to  it  here. 


68  yiRABIA,   THE   CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

manufacture  of  silk,  jewelry  and  arms  is  carried  on.  The  gov- 
ernment quarter,  with  its  cafes,  billiard-rooms,  large  Greek  shops, 
carriages,  bootblacks,  and  brass-band  reminds  one  of  Cairo. 
Sana  has  forty-eight  mosques,  thirty-nine  synagogues,  twelve 
large  public-baths,  a  military  hospital  with  200  beds,  and  is  the 
centre  of  trade  for  all  northern  Yemen  and  northwestern 
Hadramaut,  as  well  as  for  the  distant  villages  of  Nejran  and 
fertile  Wady  Dauasir.  Arabs  from  every  district  crowd  the 
bazaars,  and  long  strings  of  camels  leave  every  day  for  the 
Hodeidah  coast. 

On  August  14th  I  took  an  early  morning  walk  to  Rhoda,  a 
village  about  eight  miles  north  of  Sana,  and  in  the  midst  of 
beautiful  gardens.  From  Roda  the  direct  caravan  route  leads 
to  Nejran,  and  from  the  outskirts  of  the  village,  looking  north, 
an  inviting  picture  met  the  eye.  A  fertile  plateau  stretched  out 
to  the  horizon,  and  only  two  days'  journey  would  bring  one  into 
the  free  desert  beyond  Turkish  rule.  But  this  time  the  way 
across  the  peninsula  was  closed  by  my  bankruptcy ;  robbed  at 
Yerim  in  the  coffee-shop,  and  already  in  debt  at  Sana,  it  would 
have  been  impossible  to  proceed,  except  as  a  dishonest  dervish. 

On  the  2 1  St  of  August  I  left  Sana  for  Hodeidah,  receiving 
a  loan  of  twenty  dollars  from  the  Ottoman  government,  to  be 
paid  back  at  the  American  consulate.  We  followed  the  regular 
postal  route,  the  same  which  I  had  travelled  on  my  first  journey. 

The  plateau  or  table-land  between  Sana'a  and  Banan  is  a 
pasture  country.  The  Bedouins  live  in  the  stone-built  villages 
and  herd  their  immense  flocks  on  the  plain;  camels,  cows  and 
sheep  were  grazing  by  the  hundreds  and  thousands.  After 
Banan  begins  the  difficult  descent  to  the  coast  down  break- 
neck mountain  stairways  rather  than  roadways,  over  broken 
bridges,  and  through  natural  arches.  Fertile,  cultivated  moun- 
tain slopes  were  on  every  side,  reminding  one  of  the  valleys  of 
Switzerland.  In  one  district  near  Suk-el-Khamis  the  whole 
mountain-side  for  a  height  of  6,000  feet  was  terraced  from  top 
to  bottom.     General  Haig  wrote  of  these  terraces  :   "  One  can 


YEMEN:    THE  SIVITZERLAND  OF  /iRABIA  m 

hardly  realize  the  enormous  amount  of  labor,  toil  and  perse- 
verance which  these  represent.  The  terraced  walls  are  usually 
from  five  to  eight  feet  in  height,  but  toward  the  top  of  the 
mountain  they  are  sometimes  as  much  as  fifteen  or  eighteen 
feet.  They  are  built  entirely  of  rough  stone,  laid  without 
mortar.  I  reckon  on  an  average  that  each  wall  retains  a  ter- 
race not  more  than  twice  its  own  height  in  width,  and  I  do  not 
think  I  saw  a  single  breach  in  one  of  them  unrepaired."  ^ 

In  Yemen  there  are  two  rainy  seasons,  in  spring  and  in  au- 
tumn, so  that  there  is  generally  an  abundance  of  water  in  the 
numerous  reservoirs  stored  for  irrigation.  Yet,  despite  the  ex- 
traordinary fertility  of  the  soil  and  the  surprising  industry  of 
the  inhabitants,  the  bulk  of  the  people  are  miserably  poor,  ill- 
fed  and  rudely  clothed,  because  they  are  crushed  down  by  a 
heartless  system  of  taxation.  Every  agricultural  product,  im- 
plement and  process  is  under  the  heavy  hand  of  an  oppressive 
administration  and  a  military  occupation  that  knows  no  law. 
The  peasantry  are  robbed  by  the  soldiers  on  their  way  to 
market,  by  the  custom-collector  at  the  gate  of  each  city,  and 
by  the  tax-gatherer  in  addition.  On  the  way  to  Sana  my 
soldier-companion  stopped  a  poor  peasant  who  was  urging  on 
a  little  donkey  loaded  with  two  large  baskets  of  grapes  ;  he 
emptied  the  best  of  the  grapes  into  his  saddle-bags,  and  then 
beat  the  man  and  cursed  him  because  some  of  the  grapes  were 
unripe  !  No  wonder  we  read  of  rebellions  in  Yemen,  and  no 
wonder  that  intense  hatred  lives  in  every  Arab  against  the  very 
name  of  Turk. 

From  Suk-el-Khamis,  a  dirty  mountain  village,*  with  an  ele- 
vation of  over  9,500  feet,  the  road  leads  by  Mefak  and  Wady 
Zaun  to  the  peculiarly  located  village  of  Menakha.  At  an 
altitude  of  7,600  feet  above  sea-level,  it  is  perched  on  a  narrow 
ridge  between  two  mountain  ranges.    On  either  side  of  the  one 

'  Geog.  Soc.  Proceedings,  1887,  P-  4^2. 

2  Defler  says  in  his  diary  that  this  place  has  "  une  odeur  atroce  et  des 
legions  de  puces  et  de  punaises."     I  also  had  an  all-night's  battle. 


70  y4RABM,    THE   CRADLE   OF  ISLAM 

Street  that  forms  the  backbone  of  the  summit  are  precipices 
2,000  feet  deep.  So  narrow  is  the  town  that  there  are  places 
where  one  can  stand  and  gaze  down  both  sides  of  the  abyss  at 
the  same  time.  To  reach  it  from  the  west  there  is  only  one 
path  zigzagging  up  the  mountain-side,  and  from  the  east  it  can 
only  be  approached  by  a  narrow  track  cut  in  the  face  of  the 
precipice  and  winding  up  for  an  ascent  of  2,500  feet.  Men- 
akha  is  the  centre  of  the  coffee  trade ;  it  has  a  population  of 
10,000  or  more,  one-third  of  which  are  Jews.  There  are  four 
Greek  merchants,  the  Turks  had  2,000  troops  garrisoned  in  the 
town,  and  the  bazaars  were  equal  to  those  of  Taiz.  Its  exact 
elevation  is  given  by  Defler,  after  eighteen  observations,  as 
7,616  feet  above  sea-level. 

From  Menakha  to  the  coast  is  only  two  long  days'  jour- 
ney ;  three  by  camel.  The  first  stage  is  to  Hejjeila,  at  the 
foot  of  the  high  ranges  ;  thence  to  Bajil,  a  village  of  2,000  peo- 
ple, and  along  the  barren,  hot  plain  to  Hodeidah.  At  Bajil 
the  people  are  nearly  all  shepherds,  and  the  main  industry  is 
dyeing  cloth  and  weaving  straw.  Here  one  sees  the  curious 
Yemen  straw  hats  worn  by  the  women,  and  here  also  the  peas- 
ant-maidens wear  no  veils.  Yet  they  are  of  purer  heart  and 
life  than  the  black-clouted  and  covered  women  of  the  Turkish 
towns. 

Hodeidah  by  the  sea  is  very  like  Jiddah  in  its  general  ap- 
pearance. The  streets  are  narrow,  crooked  and  indescribably 
filthy.  The  "Casino"  is  a  sort  of  Greek  hotel  for  strangers, 
and  the  finest  house  in  the  city  is  that  of  Sidi  Aaron,  near  the 
sea,  with  its  fine  front  and  marble  courtyard.  The  population 
is  of  a  very  mixed  character ;  east  of  the  city  in  a  separate 
quarter  live  the  Akhdam  Arabs,  whose  origin  is  uncertain,  but 
who  are  considered  outcasts  by  all  the  other  Arabs.  They  are 
not  allowed  to  carry  arms  and  no  Arab  tribe  intermarries  with 
them. 

From  Hodeidah  there  is  a  regular  line  of  small  steamers  to 
Aden,  and  the  Egyptian  Red  Sea  coasting  steamers  also  call 


YEMEN:    THE  SU/ITZERMND  OF  ARABIA  71 

here  fortnightly.  The  trade  of  Hodeidah  was  once  flourishing, 
but  here  too  Turkish  misrule  has  brought  deadness  and  dull- 
ness into  business,  and  taxation  has  crushed  industrial  enter- 
prise. 


AN  ARABIAN   COMPASS. 


VII 

•  THE  UNEXPLORED   REGIONS   OP   HADRAMAUT 

"  As  when  to  them  who  sail 
Beyond  the  Cape  of  Hope,  and  now  are  past 
Mozambic,  off  at  sea  northeast  winds  blow 
Sabean  odors  from  the  spicy  shore 
Of  Araby  the  blest."— i7/z7^«. 

'ITT'E  must  take  at  least  a  glimpse  of  the  almost  unknown 
region  called  Hadramaut.'  This  is  a  strip  of  territory- 
stretching  between  the  great  desert  and  the  sea  from  Aden  east- 
ward to  Oman.  Our  knowledge  of  the  interior  of  this  region 
was  almost  a  perfect  blank  until  some  light  was  thrown  on  it 
by  the  enterprising  traveller  A.  Von  Wrede  in  1843.  The 
coast  is  comparatively  well  known,  at  least  as  far  as  Makalla 
and  Shehr.  The  land  rises  from  the  coast  in  a  series  of  ter- 
races to  Jebel  Hamra  (5,284  feet),  which  is  connected  on  the 
northeast  with  Jebel  Dahura,  over  8,000  feet  high. 

Adolph  Von  Wrede  sailed  from  Aden  to  Makalla  and 
thence  penetrated  inland  as  far  as  Wady  Doan  the  most  fertile 
spot  of  all  South  Arabia.  This  wady  flows  northward  through 
the  land  of  the  Bni  Yssa  and  the  district  is  bordered  on  the 
west  by  Belad-el-Hasan  and  on  the  east  by  Belad-el-Hamum. 
But  how  far  this  region  extends  northward  and  whether  the 
sandy  desert  of  El  Ahkaf  (quicksands)  really  begins  with  the 
Wady  Rakhia,  a  branch  of  the  Doan  are  points  on  which  Von 
Wrede  throws  no  light  and  which  are  still  uncertain.     In  1870 

1  Hadramaut  is  a  very  ancient  name  for  this  region.  Not  only  does 
Ptolemy  place  here  the  Adramita  in  his  geography,  but  there  seems  little 
doubt  that  Hadramaut  is  identical  with  Hazarmaveth,  mentioned  in  the 
tenth  chapter  of  Genesis. 

72 


THE  UNEXPLORED  REGIONS  OF  HADRAMAUT         73 

the  French  Jew,  Joseph  Halevy,  made  a  bold  attempt  to  pene- 
trate into  Hadramaut  from  Yemen.  Since  then  Httle  was 
added  to  our  knowledge  of  Hadramaut  until  1893  when  Shibam, 
the  residence  of  the  most  powerful  Sultan  of  Hadramaut  was 
visited  by  Theodore  Bent  and  his  wife.  In  1897  they  made  a 
second  journey  into  the  same  region  which  cost  Mr.  Bent  his 
health  and  afterward  his  life.  From  the  account  of  these  jour- 
neys we  quote  a  few  paragraphs  which  set  forth  clearly  the  in- 
teresting character  of  this  almost  unknown  country.^ 

"Immediately  behind  Makalla  rise  grim  arid  mountains  of  a 
reddish  hue,  and  the  town  is  plastered  against  this  rich-tinged 
background.  By  the  shore,  like  a  lighthouse,  stands  the  white 
minaret  of  the  Mosque,  the  walls  and  pinnacles  of  which  are 
covered  with  dense  masses  of  seabirds  and  pigeons ;  not  far 
from  this  the  huge  palace  where  the  Sultan  dwells  reminds  one 
of  a  whitewashed  mill  with  a  lace-like  parapet ;  white,  red  and 
brown  are  the  dominant  colors  of  the  town,  and  in  the  harbor 
the  Arab  dhows  with  fantastic  sterns  rock  to  and  fro  in  the 
unsteady  sea,  forming  altogether  a  picturesque  and  unusual 
scene. 

"Nominally  Makalla  is  ruled  over  by  a  Sultan  of  the  Al 
Kaiti  family,  whose  connection  with  India  has  made  them  very 
English  in  their  sympathies,  and  his  Majesty's  general  appear- 
ance, with  his  velvet  coat  and  jewelled  daggers,  is  far  more 
Indian  than  Arabian.  Really  the  most  influential  people  in  the 
town  are  the  money-grubbing  Parsees  from  Bombay,  and  it  is 
essentially  one  of  those  commercial  centres  where  Hindustani 
is  spoken  nearly  as  much  as  Arabian.  We  were  lodged  in  a 
so-called  palace  hard  by  the  bazaar,  which  reeked  with  mys- 
terious smells  and  was  alive  with  flies ;  so  we  worked  hard  to 
get  our  preparations  made  and  to  make  our  sojourn  in  this  un- 
congenial burning  spot  as  short  as  possible. 

' "  The  Hadramaut :  a  Journey "  by  Theodore  Bent.  Nineteenth 
Century,  September,  1894.  Also  Mrs.  Bent's  "  Yafei  and  Fadhli 
countries."     Geographical  Journal,  ]\Ay,  1898. 


74  ARABIA,   THE   CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

"  Leaving  these  villages  behind  us,  we  climbed  rapidly  higher 
and  higher,  until,  at  an  elevation  of  over  5,000  feet,  we  found 
ourselves  at  last  on  a  broad  level  plateau,  stretching  as  far  as 
the  eye  could  reach  in  every  direction,  and  shutting  off  the 
Hadramaut  from  the  coast.  This  is  the  *  mons  excelsus '  of 
Pliny ;  here  we  have  the  vast  area  where  once  flourished  the 
frankincense  and  the  myrrh.  Of  the  latter  shrub  there  is 
plenty  left,  and  it  is  still  tapped  for  its  odoriferous  sap  ;  but  of 
the  former  we  only  saw  one  specimen  on  the  plateau,  for  in  the 
lapse  of  ages  the  wealth  of  this  country  has  steadily  disap- 
peared ;  further  east,  however,  in  the  Mahra  country,  there  is, 
I  understand,  a  considerable  quantity  left. 

"  Near  Hajarein  are  many  traces  of  the  olden  days  when  the 
frankincense  trade  flourished,  and  when  the  town  of  Doani, 
which  name  is  still  retained  in  the  Wady  Doan,  was  a  great 
emporium  for  this  trade.  Acres  and  acres  of  ruins,  dating 
from  the  centuries  immediately  before  our  era,  lie  stretched 
along  the  valley  here,  just  showing  their  heads  above  the 
weight  of  superincumbent  sand  which  has  invaded  and  over- 
whelmed the  past  glories  of  this  district.  The  ground  lies 
strewn  with  fragments  of  Himyaritic  inscriptions,  pottery,  and 
other  indications  of  a  rich  harvest  for  the  excavator,  but  the 
hostility  of  the  Nahad  tribe  prevented  us  from  paying  these 
ruins  more  than  a  cursory  visit,  and  even  to  secure  this  we  had 
to  pay  the  Sheikh  of  the  place  nineteen  dollars ;  and  his  greet- 
ing was  ominous  as  he  angrily  muttered,  '  Salaam  to  all  who 
believe  Mohammed  is  the  true  prophet.' 

"At  Assab  they  would  not  aUow  us  to  dip  our  vessels  in 
their  well,  nor  take  our  repast  under  the  shadow  of  their 
Mosque :  even  the  women  of  this  village  ventured  to  insult  us, 
peeping  into  our  tent  at  night,  and  tumbling  over  the  guys  in  a 
manner  most  aggravating  to  the  weary  occupants. 

"Our  troubles  on  this  score  were  happily  terminated  at 
Haura,  where  a  huge  castle  belonging  to  the  Al  Kaiti  family 
dominates  a  humble  village  surrounded  by  palm  groves.    With- 


THE   UNEXPLORED  REGIONS  OF  HADR/4MAUT  75 

out  photographs  to  bear  out  my  statement,  I  should  hardly  dare 
to  describe  the  magnificence  of  these  castles  in  the  Hadramaut. 
That  at  Haura  is  seven  stories  high,  and  covers  fully  an  acre 
of  ground  beneath  the  beetling  cliff,  with  battlements,  towers, 
and  machicolations  bearing  a  striking  likeness  to  Holyrood. 
But  Holyrood  is  built  of  stone,  and  Haura,  save  for  the  first 
story,  is  built  of  sun-dried  bricks ;  and  if  Haura  stood  where 
Holyrood  does,  or  in  any  other  country  save  dry,  arid  Arabia, 
it  would  long  ago  have  melted  away. 

"  One  of  the  most  striking  features  of  these  Arabian  palaces 
is  the  wood-carving.  The  doors  are  exquisitely  decorated  with 
intricate  patterns,  and  with  a  text  out  of  the  Koran  carved  on 
the  lintel ;  the  locks  and  keys  are  all  of  wood,  and  form  a  study 
for  the  carver's  art,  as  do  the  cupboards,  the  niches,  the  sup- 
porting beams  and  the  windows,  which  are  adorned  with  fret- 
work instead  of  glass.  The  dwelling-rooms  are  above,  the 
ground  floor  being  exclusively  used  for  merchandise,  and  the 
first  floor  for  the  domestics." 

Concerning  the  chief  town  of  the  interior  of  Hadramaut  Mr. 
Bent  writes  as  follows  : 

"  Then  he  sent  us  to  reside  for  five  more  days  in  his  capital 
of  Shibam,  which  is  twelve  miles  distant  from  Al  Katan,  and 
is  one  of  the  principal  towns  in  the  Hadramaut  valley.  It  is 
built  on  rising  ground  in  the  centre  of  the  narrowest  point  of 
the  valley,  so  that  no  one  can  pass  between  it  and  the  cliffs  of 
the  valley  out  of  gunshot  of  the  walls.  This  rising  ground  has 
doubtless  been  produced  by  many  generations  of  towns  built  of 
sun-dried  bricks,  for  it  is  the  best  strategical  point  in  the  neigh- 
borhood. Early  Arab  writers  tell  us  that  the  Himyarite  popu- 
lation of  this  district  came  here  when  they  abandoned  their 
capital  at  Sabota,  or  Shabwa,  further  up  the  valley,  early  in  our 
era,  but  we  found  evident  traces  of  an  earlier  occupation  than 
this — an  inscription  and  a  seal  with  the  name  '  Shibam '  en- 
graved on  it,  which  cannot  be  later  than  the  third  century, 
B.  c.    And  as  a  point  for  making  up  the  caravans  which  started 


76  /IRABU,    THE   CRADLE   OF  ISLAM 

from  the  frankincense-growing  district,  Shibam  must  always 
have  been  very  important. 

"The  town  of  Shibam  offers  a  curious  appearance  as  you 
approach  ;  above  its  mud-brick  walls  with  bastions  and  watch 
towers  appear  the  tall  whitewashed  houses  of  the  wealthy, 
which  make  it  look  like  a  large  round  cake  with  sugar  on  it. 
Outside  the  walls  several  industries  are  carried  on,  the  chief  of 
which  is  the  manufacture  of  indigo  dye.  The  small  leaves  are 
dried  in  the  sun  and  powdered  and  then  put  into  huge  jars — 
which  reminded  us  of  the  Forty  Thieves — filled  with  water. 
Next  morning  these  are  stirred  with  long  poles,  producing  a 
dark  blue  frothy  mixture ;  this  is  left  to  settle,  and  then  the  in- 
digo is  taken  from  the  bottom  and  spread  out  on  cloths  to 
drain ;  the  substance  thus  procured  is  taken  home  and  mixed 
with  dates  and  saltpetre.  Four  pounds  of  this  indigo  to  a 
gallon  of  water  makes  the  requisite  and  universally  used  dye 
for  garments,  the  better  class  of  which  are  calendered  by  beat- 
ing them  with  wooden  hammers  on  stones." 

Of  the  coast  town  of  Shehr  and  its  ruler  Mr.  Bent  says  : 
"  Shehr  is  a  detestable  place  by  the  sea,  set  in  a  wilderness 
of  sand.  Once  it  was  the  chief  commercial  port  of  the  Hadra- 
maut  valley,  but  now  Makalla  has  quite  superseded  it,  for 
Shehr  is  nothing  but  an  open  roadstead  and  its  buildings  are 
now  falling  into  ruins.  Ghalib,  the  eldest  son  and  heir  of  the 
chief  of  the  Al  Kaiti  family,  rules  here  as  the  viceregent  of  his 
father,  who  is  in  India  as  jemadar  or  general  of  the  Arab 
troops,  chiefly  all  Hadrami,  in  the  service  of  the  Nizam  of 
Hyderabad.  Ghalib  is  quite  an  Oriental  dandy,  who  lived  a 
life  of  some  rapidity  when  in  India,  so  that  his  father  thought 
it  as  well  to  send  him  to  rule  in  Shehr,  where  the  capabilities 
for  mischief  are  not  so  many  as  at  Bombay.  He  dresses  very 
well  in  various  damask  silk  coats  and  faultless  trousers ;  his 
swords  and  daggers  sparkle  with  jewels ;  in  his  hand  he  flour- 
ishes a  golden-headed  cane ;  and,  as  the  water  is  hard  at  Shehr, 
he  sends  his  dirty  linen  in  dhows  to  Bombay  to  be  washed." 


THE  UNEXPLORED  REGIONS  OF  HADRAMAUl 


77 


The  Arabs  of  Hadramaut  have  been  still  more  in  contact 
with  Java  than  with  India.  Large  colonies  of  Hadramis  em- 
igrated to  the  Dutch  Archipelago  more  than  a  century  ago ; 
intermarriage  between  the  Javanese  and  the  Arabs  is  very  com- 
mon ;  and  the  Mohammedanism  of  the  Dutch  East  Indies  is 
entirely  of  the  Hadramaut  type.  These  interesting  facts  were 
first  brought  to  light  by  Van  den  Berg,  a  Dutch  scholar  in  his 
elaborate  work  on  this  province  of  Arabia  and  the  Arab  col- 
onies in  Java.^  His  account  of  Hadramaut  is  a  compilation 
from  the  lips  of  the  Arab  immigrants,  but  the  description  of 
the  manners  and  customs  of  the  people  and  their  religious 
peculiarities  is  from  personal  observation.  Altogether,  in  spite 
of  minor  geographical  inaccuracies,  the  book  is  the  best  single 
volume  on  Southern  Arabia  and  tells  the  story  of  Islam  in  the 
Dutch  Archipelago  as  it  is  to-day.  The  Arabs  have  always 
been  a  strong  race  at  colonizing  but  it  is  well  to  note  that  the 
influence  of  Hadramaut  on  Java  and  Sumatra  to-day  is  not 
less  than  that  of  Oman  on  Zanzibar  and  East  Africa  in  the  last 
century.  Even  Hadramaut  will  not  always  remain  undiscov- 
ered and  unremembered.  The  incense-country  of  antiquity 
has  a  future  before  it  even  as  it  has  had  a  glorious  past. 


A   CASTLE   IN   HADRAMAUT. 


'  Le  Hadramont  et  les  Colonies  Arabes  dans  le  Archipel  Indien  par  L. 
W.  C.  Van  den  Berg.     Batavia,  i8S6.    By  order  of  the  Government. 


VIII 

MUSCAT  AND   THE   COASTLANDS   OF   OMAN 

"  Oman  is  separated  from  the  rest  of  Arabia  by  a  sandy  desert.  It  is, 
in  fact,  as  far  as  communication  with  the  rest  of  the  world  is  concerned, 
an  island  with  the  sea  on  one  side  and  the  desert  on  the  other.  Hence 
its  people  are  even  more  primitive,  simple  and  unchanged  in  their  habits 
than  the  Arabs  generally.  Along  the  coast,  however,  especially  at  Muscat 
they  are  more  in  contact  with  the  outer  world." — Getieral  Haig. 

TN  Arab  nomenclature  Oman  applies  only  to  a  small  district 
"*■  in  the  vicinity  of  Muscat,  but  the  name  is  generally  given 
to  the  entire  southeastern  section  of  the  Arabian  peninsula,  in- 
cluding everything  east  of  a  line  drawn  from  the  Kuria-Muria 
islands  to  the  peninsula  of  Katar,  anciently  called  Bahrein. 
Thus  defined  it  is  the  largest  province  of  Arabia  and  in  some 
respects  the  most  interesting.  Historically,  politically  and 
geographically  Oman  has  always  been  isolated  from  the  other 
provinces.  Turkish  rule  never  extended  this  far  nor  did  the 
later  caliphs  long  exercise  their  authority  here.  The  whole 
country  has  for  centuries  been  under  independent  rulers  called 
Imams  or  Seyyids.  The  population,  which  is  wholly  Arab 
and  Mohammedan,  (save  in  the  coast  towns)  was  derived 
originally  from  two  different  stocks  known  to  the  Arabs  as 
Kahtani  and  Adnani  or  the  Yemeni  and  Muadi.  These  names 
have  changed  since  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century  to 
Hinani  and  Ghaffiri.  The  Yemen  tribes  came  first  and  are 
most  numerous.  The  two  rival  races  have  been  in  open  and 
continuous  feud  and  antagonism  and  have  kept  the  country  in 
perpetual  turmoil.  They  even  inhabit  separate  quarters  in 
some  of  the  towns,  according  to  Colonel  Miles.  In  Somail, 
about  fifty  miles  inland  from  Muscat  a  broad  road  marks  the 
division  between  the  two  clans.     These  two  parent  stocks  are 

78 


MUSCAT  AND  THE  CO  AST  LANDS  OF  OMAN  79 

subdivided  into  some  200  different  tribes  and  these  again  into 
sub-tribes  or  "houses."  Each  family-group  has  its  own 
Sheikh,  a  hereditary  position  assumed  by  the  eldest  male  in 
the  family. 

Very  few  of  the  tribes  of  Oman  are  nomadic ;  the  greater 
part  live  in  towns  and  villages  along  the  wady-beds.  With 
the  exception  of  fruits  of  which  there  is  a  great  variety  and 
abundance,  dates  are  the  sole  food  product  and  the  chief  ex- 
port of  the  province.  Rice  is  imported  from  India.  The  total 
population  of  Oman  is  estimated  by  Colonel  Miles  not  to  ex- 
ceed 1,500,000.  There  are  numerous  towns  of  5,000  to  10,- 
000  inhabitants ;  Muscat  and  Mattra  are  the  chief  towns  on  the 
coast,  and  are  practically  united  as  they  are  only  two  miles 
apart.  The  climate  of  Oman  on  the  coast  is  excessively  hot 
and  moist  during  a  large  part  of  the  year,  although  the  rainfall 
here  is  only  six  to  ten  inches  annually ;  in  the  interior  the  heat 
is  greatly  tempered  by  the  elevation,  the  rainfall  is  much 
greater  and  the  climate  as  pleasant  as  in  the  highlands  of 
Yemen. 

The  Omanese  state  was  at  its  greatest  height  of  power  at  the 
beginning  of  the  present  century.  Then  the  Sultans  of  Muscat 
exercised  rule  as  far  as  Bahrein  to  the  northwest,  had  posses- 
sion of  Bunder  Abbas  and  Linga  in  Persia,  and  called  Socotra 
and  Zanzibar  their  own.  At  this  time  the  Oman  Arabs  began 
their  extensive  journeys  in  Africa  and,  urged  by  the  enormous 
profits  of  the  slave-trade,  explored  every  corner  of  the  great  in- 
terior of  the  Dark  Continent.  At  present  the  authority  of  the 
Sultan  at  Muscat,  Seyyid  Feysul  bin  Turki,  does  not  extend 
far  beyond  the  capital  and  its  suburbs. 

In  the  early  years  of  the  Oman  Sultanate,  Nizwa  was  the 
capital,  afterward  Rastak  became  the  seat  of  government,  but 
since  1779,  Muscat  has  been  at  once  the  capital  and  the  key, 
the  gateway  and  the  citadel  of  the  whole  country.  On  ap- 
proaching Muscat  in  a  British  India  steamer,  the  land  is  first 
sighted,  looming  up  in  one  mass  of  dark  mountain  ranges; 


80  ARABIA,   THE  CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

closer,  one  portion  of  this  mass  directly  over  the  town  of  Mus- 
cat is  seen  to  be  of  a  dark  brown  color,  crag  on  crag,  serrated 
and  torn  in  a  fantastic  manner  and  giving  the  harbor  a  most 
picturesque  appearance.  The  town  itself  shows  white  against 
the  dark  massive  rocks,  on  the  summits  of  which  are  perched 
numerous  castles  and  towers.  But,  though  presenting  a  pleas- 
ing prospect  from  a  distance,  a  nearer  view  reveals  the  usual 
features  of  large  Oriental  towns, — narrow,  dirty  streets,  unat- 
tractive buildings,  and  masses  of  crumbling  walls  under  the 
torrid  heat  of  a  burning  sun  and  amid  all  the  sweltering  sur- 
roundings of  a  damp  climate. 

The  heat  of  Muscat  is  proverbial.  John  Struys,  the  Dutch- 
man, who  visited  this  town  in  1672,  wrote  that  it  was  "  so  in- 
credibly hot  and  scorching  that  strangers  are  as  if  they  were  in 
boiling  cauldrons  or  sweating  tubs."  A  Persian,  named  Abd- 
er-Razak,  being  a  Persian,  was  able  to  surpass  all  others  in  ex- 
aggerated description  and  wrote  of  Muscat  in  1442,  "The 
heat  was  so  intense  that  it  burned  the  marrow  in  the  bones,  the 
sword  in  its  scabbard  melted  like  wax,  and  the  gems  that 
adorned  the  handle  of  the  dagger  were  reduced  to  coal.  In 
the  plains  the  chase  became  a  matter  of  perfect  ease,  for  the 
desert  was  filled  with  roasted  gazelles  !  "  It  is  said  that  a 
black  bulb  thermometer  has  registered  189°  F.  in  the  sun  at  Mus- 
cat and  107°  even  at  night,  is  not  unusual  during  the  hottest 
part  of  the  year.  The  bare  rocks  form  a  parabolic  mirror  to 
the  sun's  rays  from  the  south  and  west ;  add  to  this  the  facts 
that  the  hills  shut  off  the  breezes  and  that  Muscat  lies  on  the 
Tropic  of  Cancer  in  the  zone  of  greatest  heat.  According  to 
the  witness  of  a  resident,  "the  climate  of  Muscat  is  bad  be- 
yond all  description.  For  about  three  months  in  the  year, 
from  December  to  March,  it  is  tolerably  cool  at  night  but  after 
the  latter  month  the  heat  becomes  intense  and  makes  Muscat 
rank  but  little  after  the  Infernal  Regions.  There  is  a  short 
break  in  the  hot  weather  about  the  middle  of  July  which  gen- 
erally lasts  a  month." 


) 


THE    HARBOR   AND    CASTLE    AT    MUSCAT 


READY    FOR    A    CAMEL    RIDE    IN   THE    DESERT 


MUSCAT  AhlD  THE  CO  AST  LAWS  OF  OMAN  81 

The  most  conspicuous  buildings  of  Muscat  are  the  two  forts, 
the  relics  of  the  Portuguese  dominion,  which  stand  out  boldly 
on  each  side  of  the  town  about  loo  feet  above  the  sea.  They 
command  not  only  the  sea-approach,  but  the  town  itself  and 
are  only  accessible  by  a  fine  stairway  cut  out  of  the  natural 
rock.  The  guns  that  bristle  from  the  forts  are  nearly  all  old 
and  comparatively  harmless.  Several  of  them  are  of  brass  and' 
bear  the  royal  arms  of  Spain;  one  is  dated  1606.  In  the  fort 
to  the  right  of  the  harbor,  one  can  still  see  the  ruins  of  a 
Portuguese  chapel.  When  Pelly  visited  it  in  1865  the  follow- 
ing inscription  was  legible  : 

AVE  MAR.  GRASA  P._EA  Qs  "ECUM  Etc.     .     .     . 

Its  translation  given  by  him  reads:  "Hail  Mary  full  of 
grace,  the  Lord  is  with  thee.  Don  Phillip  III.,  King  of  Spain, 
Don  Juan  de  Acuna  of  his  council  of  war  and  his  captain- 
general  of  the  artillery  in  the  year  1605,  in  the  eighth  year  of 
his  reign  in  the  crown  of  Portugal,  ordered  through  Don 
Quarte  Menezes,  his  commissioner  of  India,  that  this  fortress 
should  be  built." 

The  Sultan  has  also  a  town  residence  in  half  decay  like  all 
the  other  stone-built  but  mud-cemented  houses  of  the  natives. 
The  only  residences  well-built  and  durable  are  those  of  the 
British  resident  and  the  American  consul.  The  former  occu- 
pies the  choice  location,  in  a  rock  cleft,  where  breezes  blow 
from  two  directions.  The  bazaar  of  Muscat  has  little  to  boast 
of;  one  of  the  chief  industries  is  the  manufacture  of  Hilawi 
or  Muscat  candy-paste,  which  to  the  acquired  taste  is  delicious, 
but  to  the  stranger  smells  of  rancid  butter  and  tastes  like  sweet 
wagon-grease. 

The  town  is  cut  off  from  the  plain  behind  by  a  substantially 
built  wall  which  stretches  from  hill  to  hill.  This  wall  is 
pierced  with  two  gates  which  are  always  guarded  and  closed  a 
couple  of  hours  after  sunset.  The  moat  outside  the  wall  is 
dry.     Beyond  it  are  houses  and  hundreds  of  mat  huts  princi- 


SS  MABI/i,   THE  CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

pally  inhabited  by  Beluchis  and  Negroes.  The  American  mis- 
sion house  is  also  outside  of  the  wall,  in  this  quarter.  About 
a  third  of  a  mile  beyond  are  the  gardens  of  Muscat  and  the 
wells,  protected  by  a  tower  and  guard.  "The  gardens"  are 
always  visited  at  sunset  by  the  strollers  for  exercise,  but  they 
are  hardly  large  enough  "  to  supply  a  week's  food  for  loo  self- 
respecting  locusts  of  normal  appetite." 

The  population  of  Muscat  is  of  very  mixed  character,  Arabs, 
Beluchis,  Banian- Traders,  Negroes,  Persians,  and  every  other 
nation  that  frequents  this  port  of  transit.  The  Arabic  spoken 
in  all  Oman  is  a  dialect  quite  different  from  that  of  Nejd  or 
Yemen  but  the  Arabic  of  Muscat  is  full  of  pigeon-English  and 
pigeon-Hindustani.  The  extensive  and  long  intercourse  with 
Zanzibar  and  East  Africa  has  also  had  its  influence  on  the 
speech  and  habits  of  the  Muscat  Arab  trader.  The  present 
trade  is  still  very  considerable,  although  less  than  a  century 
ago.  It  is  mostly  with  India,  there  being  little  direct  trade 
with  England.  The  chief  exports  are  dates,  fruit,  shark-fins, 
fish,  and  salt;  the  imports,  rice,  sugar,  piece-goods,  coffee, 
silk,  petroleum  and  arms.  The  largest  export  is  of  dates 
which  nearly  all  go  to  the  American  Market.  Besides  the 
large  number  of  steamers  which  call  at  this  port,  the  native 
merchants  own  several  old  British  sailing  vessels,  some  of  them 
noted  clippers  in  their  day,  which  make  one  or  two  voyages  a 
year  and  bring  profit  to  their  owners.  Native  boats  also  trans- 
port cargoes  landed  at  Muscat,  to  the  less  frequented  ports. 
This  adds  to  the  importance  of  Muscat  as  an  entrepot  for 
Oman.  Mattra  is  the  terminus  of  the  caravan-routes  from  the 
interior  and  is  in  communication  with  Muscat  by  a  narrow 
mountain  path  and  by  sea. 

The  so-called  Pirate  coast  stretches  along  the  northern 
boundary  of  Oman  on  the  Persian  Gulf  from  El  Katar  to 
Ras  Musendum  and  Avas,  even  as  early  as  Ptolemy's  day,  in- 
habited by  wild,  lawless  Arabs.  On  his  map  of  Arabia  they 
are  named  Ichthiophagoi,  or  fish-eaters.     Niebuhr  wrote  of  this 


MUSCAT  AND  THE  CO  AST  LANDS  OF  OMAN  83 

part  of  Oman,  "  Fishes  are  so  plentiful  upon  the  coast  and  so 
easily  caught,  as  to  be  used  not  only  for  feeding  cows,  asses, 
and  other  domestic  animals,  but  even  as  manure  for  the  fields." 
Sir  John  Malcolm,  in  his  quaint  sketches  of  Persia  wrote  forty 
years  ago  :  "I  asked  who  were  the  inhabitants  of  the  barren 
shore  of  Arabia  that  we  saw.  He  answered  with  apparent 
alarm,  '  they  are  of  the  sect  of  Wahabees  and  are  called 
Jowasimee.  But  God  preserve  us  from  them,  for  they  are 
monsters.  Their  occupation  is  piracy,  and  their  delight  mur- 
der, and  to  make  it  worse  they  give  you  the  most  pious  reasons 
for  every  villainy  they  commit.  They  abide  by  the  letter  of 
the  sacred  volume,  rejecting  all  commentaries  and  traditions. 
If  you  are  their  captive  and  offer  all  to  save  your  life  they  say. 
No  !  It  is  written  in  the  Koran  that  it  is  not  lawful  to  plunder 
the  living ;  but  we  are  not  prohibited  from  stripping  the  dead 
— so  saying  they  knock  you  on  the  head.'  " 

Thanks  to  English  commerce  and  gunboats  these  fanatic 
Wahabis  have  become  more  tame,  and  most  of  them  have  long 
given  up  piracy  and  turned  to  pearl-diving  for  a  livelihood. 
Hindu  traders  have  settled  among  them,  foreign  commerce 
reaches  their  bazaars,  and  the  black  tent  is  making  room  for 
the  three  or  four  important  towns  of  Dabai,  Sharka,  Abu 
Thubi  and  Ras-el-Kheima,  with  growing  population  and  in- 
creasing wealth. 

The  cape  of  Musendum  and  the  land  back  of  it,  called 
Ras-el-Jebel  is  very  mountainous,  but  beyond  Ras-el-Kheima, 
the  coast  is  low  and  flat  all  the  way  up  the  gulf.  The 
villages  are  all  built  near  the  entrance  of  salt-water  creeks 
or  marshes,  which  serve  as  harbors  at  high-tide.  For  the  most 
part  the  coast  is  unfertile,  but  near  Sharka  there  are  palm- 
groves,  and  further  inland  are  oases.  The  islands  off  this  coast 
are  most  of  them  uninhabited. 

The  Batina  coast  is  the  exception  to  all  the  maritime  plains 
that  surround  so  large  a  part  of  the  peninsula  ;  in  western  and 
eastern  Arabia  these  low  sandy  plains  are  nearly  barren  of  all 


84  ARAB! /I,   THE  CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

vegetation,  but  here  extensive  date  plantations  and  gardens  extend 
almost  to  the  very  ocean  beach.  Back  of  the  rising  plain  are 
the  lofty  ranges  of  Jebel  Akhdar.  This  fertile  coast  begins  at 
Sib,  about  twenty-five  miles  from  Muscat,  and  extends  for  150 
miles  to  the  neighborhood  of  Khor  Kalba  with  an  average 
width  of  about  twelve  miles.  It  has  many  towns  and  villages ; 
the  principal  ones  are  the  following.  Sib  is  a  scattered  town 
chiefly  built  of  mat-huts  with  two  small  detached  forts.  It  has 
a  very  small  bazaar,  but  extensive  date-groves  and  gardens. 
Back  of  Sib  on  the  way  up  the  coast  one  sees  the  great  bluff  of 
Jebel  Akhdar,  9,900  feet  high,  and  visible  over  100  miles  out 
at  sea.  Barka  has  a  lofty  Arab  fortress,  but  for  the  rest  mat- 
huts  among  date-plantations  characterize  its  general  appear- 
ance. Large  quantities  of  shell  fish  are  collected  and  sent 
inland ;  the  bazaar  is  good  and  some  Banian  traders  are 
settled  here.  Passing  several  islands  the  next  town  is  Suaik. 
After  it  the  larger  town  of  Sohar,  with  perhaps  4,000  people. 
This  town  is  walled  with  a  high  fort  in  the  middle,  the  resi- 
dence of  the  Sheikh.  A  high  conical  peak,  of  light  color, 
rises  conspicuously  about  twelve  miles  west  of  the  town,  and 
with  the  surrounding  date  gardens  and  other  trees  makes  a 
pretty  picture,  altogether  more  green  than  one  would  expect 
on  Arabian  coasts.  Beyond  Sohar  the  chief  villages  are,  in 
order,  Shinas,  Al  Fujaira,  Dibba.  The  two  latter  are  already 
beyond  the  Batina  and  are  between  the  high  cliffs  and  the  deep 
sea. 

Going  from  southeast  Muscat  down  the  coast  toward  Ras- 
el-Had  we  first  pass  the  little  village  of  Sudab  and  Bunder 
Jissa.  The  latter  is  of  interest  as  the  place  the  French  were 
trying  to  acquire  for  a  coaling-station  from  the  Sultan  of  Mus- 
cat last  year.  It  has  a  good  anchorage,  is  only  five  miles  from 
Muscat,  and  an  island  precipice,  140  feet  high,  guards  the  en- 
trance. After  this,  Karyat,  Taiwa,  Kalhat  and  smaller  villages 
passed,  we  reach  Sur.  This  large,  double  town  is  situated  on  a 
khor  or  backwater,  with  two  forts  to  the  westward.     The  in- 


MUSCAT  AND   THE   COAST  LANDS  OF  OMAN  85 

habitants,  numbering  perhaps  8,000,  consist  of  two  clans  of 
the  Bni  Bu  Ali  and  the  Bni  Janaba,  often  at  feud  with  each 
other.  The  country  inland  is  partly  cultivated  and  date 
groves  abound.  Sur  has  always  been  a  place  of  trade  and 
enterprise  and  its  buggalows  visit  India,  Zanzibar  and  the 
Persian  Gulf.  The  people  are  all  bold  sailors  since  many 
generations.  But  Sur  also  has  the  unenviable  reputation  of 
being  even  now  the  centre  of  illicit  slave-trading.  Beyond 
Sur  is  the  headland  of  Jebel  Saffan  and  Ras-el-Had,  the  east- 
ernmost point  of  Arabia,  almost  reaching  the  sixtieth  degree 
of  longitude. 

For  a  knowledge  of  the  coast  beyond  Ras-el-Had  we  are  in- 
debted to  the  papers  of  Assistant  Surgeon  H.  J.  Carter  in  the 
journal  of  the  Bombay  branch  of  the  Ro)'al  Asiatic  Society.^ 
The  two  great  Arab  tribes  that  dwell  on  this  coast  are  the 
Mahrah  and  the  Gharah  ;  the  former  really  belong  to  Hadra- 
maut,  but  the  boundaries  drawn  on  the  maps  are  purely  arti- 
ficial and  have  no  significance.  Neither  tribe  is  dependent  on 
the  Oman  Sultan  or  acknowledges  any  allegiance  to  him.  The 
Mahrah  are  descended  from  the  ancient  Himyarites  and  occupy 
a  coast-line  of  nearly  140  miles  from  Saihut  to  Ras  Morbat ; 
their  chief  town  is  Damkut  (Dunkot)  on  Kamar  bay.  In 
stature  the  Mahrahs  are  smaller  than  most  Arabs,  and  by  no 
means  handsome;  in  their  peculiar  mode  of  Bedouin  saluta- 
tion they  put  their  noses  side  by  side  and  breathe  softly  ! 
They  subsist  by  fishing  and  are  miserably  poor ;  their  plains, 
mountains  and  valleys,  except  close  to  Damkut,  are  sandy  and 
barren.  Religion  they  have  scarcely  any,  and  Carter  says  that 
they  do  not  even  know  the  Moslem  prayers,  and  are  utterly 
ignorant  of  the  teachings  of  Mohammed.  Their  dialect  is  soft 
and  sweet,  and  they  themselves  compare  it  to  the  language  of 
the   birds ;    it  is   evidently  a  corrupted  form  of  the  ancient 

'  Notes  on  the  Mahrah  Tribe  with  vocabulary  of  their  language ;  notes 
on  the  Gharah  tribe;  geography  of  the  soutlieast  coast  of  Arabia; — July, 
1845,  J^^y>  1^47;  and  January,  1851,  in  the  journal  of  the  Society. 


86  /iRABU,    THE   CRADLE   OF  ISLAM 

Himyaric  and  therefore  of  great  importance  in  the  study  of 
philology.^ 

The  Gharah  tribe  inhabit  the  coast  between  Moseirah  island 
and  the  Kuria-Muria  islands.  Their  country  is  mountainous 
and  cavernous  and  consists  of  a  white  stratified  limestone  for- 
mation 4,000  or  5,000  feet  above  the  sea-level.  The  upper 
part  of  the  mountains  are  covered  with  good  pasturage  and 
their  slopes  with  a  dense  thicket  of  small  trees  among  which 
frankincense  and  other  gum  trees  are  plentiful.  The  whole 
tribe  are  troglodytes,  "cave-dwellers,"  since  nature  gives  them 
better  dwellings  than  the  best  mud-hut,  and  cooler  than  the 
largest  tent  of  Kedar.  They  are  largely  nomadic,  however, 
and  shift  from  cave  to  cave  in  their  wanderings.  Their  ward- 
robe is  not  an  incumbrance  as  it  consists  of  a  single  piece  of 
coarse  blue  cotton  wrapped  around  the  loins  like  a  short  kilt. 
The  women  wear  a  loose  frock  of  the  same  texture  and  color 
with  wide  sleeves,  reaching  a  little  below  the  knee  in  front  and 
trailing  on  the  ground  behind  ;  the  veil  is  unknown.  Children 
go  about  entirely  naked.  Both  men  and  women  tattoo  their 
cheeks.  For  weapons  they  have  swords,  spears,  daggers,  and 
matchlocks.  Their  food  consists  of  milk,  flesh  and  honey  with 
the  wild  fruits  of  the  mountains. 

This  entire  region  has  been  justly  celebrated  for  honey  since 
the  days  of  the  Greek  geographers  who  enumerate  honey  and 
frankincense  as  its  chief  products.  The  wild  honey  of  South 
Arabia  collected  from  the  rocks  and  packed  in  large  dry  gourds, 
is  fit  for  an  epicure.  On  Ptolemy's  map  of  Arabia  the  region 
inland  from  this  coast  is  called  Libanotopheros  Regio,  the  place 
of  incense ;  and  by  Pliny  is  termed  regio  thurifera,  the  region 
of  frankincense.  From  the  earliest  times  this  has  been  the 
country  that  produces  real  frankincense  in  abundance.  Once 
its  export  was  a  source  of  wealth  to  the  inhabitants,  for  incense 
was  used  in  the  temples  of  Egypt  and  India  as  well  as  by  the 

'  The  most  characteristic  difference  between  Mahri  and  Arabic  is  the 
substitution  of  Shin  (sh)  for  A'«/'(k)  in  many  words. 


MUSCAT  AND   THE   COASTLANDS  OF  OMAN 


87 


Jews,  and  by  all  the  nations  of  antiquity.  So  important  was  this 
commerce  in  the  early  history  of  the  world  that  Sprenger  de- 
votes several  pages  in  his  Ancient  Geography  of  Arabia  to  de- 
scribing the  origin,  extent,  and  influence  of  frankincense  on 
civilization.  The  Arabs  were  then  the  general  transport  agents 
between  the  east  and  the  west,  /.  e.,  India  and  Egypt.  The 
Queen  of  Sheba's  empire  grew  rich  in  frankincense-trade ;  she 
brought  to  Solomon  "spices  in  abundance,"  nor  was  there 
"any  such  spice"  or  brought  in  "such  abundance"  as  that 
which  Queen  Sheba  gave  to  Solomon,     (b.  c.  cir.  992.) 

The  rise  of  Islam,  the  overthrow  of  the  old  Himyarite  king- 
dom, the  discovery  of  the  passage  round  the  Cape  of  Good 
Hope,  all  these  cooperated  to  destroy  the  ancient  importance 
and  prosperity  of  Southern  Arabia.  At  present,  frankincense 
is  still  exported,  but  not  in  large  quantities.  The  gum  is  pro- 
cured by  making  incisions  in  the  bark  of  the  shrub  in  May  and 
December.  On  its  first  appearance  it  comes  forth  white  as 
milk,  but  soon  hardens  and  discolors.  It  is  then  collected  by 
men  and  boys,  employed  to  look  after  the  trees  by  the  different 
families  who  own  the  land  on  which  they  grow. 


A   BRANCH    OF  THE   INCENSE  TREE. 


IX 

THE   LAND   OF   THE   CAMEL 

"To  see  real  live  dromedaries  my  readers  must,  I  fear,  come  to  Arabia, 
for  these  animals  are  not  often  to  be  met  witli  elsewhere,  not  even  in 
Syria ;  and  whoever  wishes  to  contemplate  the  species  in  all  its  beauty, 
must  prolong  his  journey  to  Oman,  which  is  for  dromedaries,  what  Nejd 
is  for  horses,  Cashmere  for  sheep,  and  Tibet  for  bulldogs." — Palgrave. 

\  LL  Oman,  but  especially  the  region  just  described,  is  called 
•*^^  among  the  Arabs  Um-el-ibl,  "mother  of  the  camel." 
Palgrave,  Doughty  and  other  Arabian  travellers  agree  that  the 
Oman  dromedary  is  the  prince  of  all  camel-breeds,  and 
Doughty  says  they  are  so  highly  esteemed  at  Mecca  as  to  fetch 
three  times  the  price  of  other  camels. 

Unless  one  knows  something  about  the  camel  one  can  neither 
understand  the  Arab  nor  his  language ;  without  the  camel,  life 
in  a  large  part  of  Arabia  would  at  present  be  impossible ;  with- 
out the  camel  the  Arabic  language  would  be  vastly  different. 
According  to  Hammer  Purgstall,  the  Arabic  dictionaries  give 
this  animal  5,744  different  names;  there  is  not  a  page  in  the 
lexicon  but  has  some  reference  to  the  camel. 

The  Arabs  highly  value  the  camel,  but  do  not  admire  its 
form  and  shape.  There  is  an  Arab  tradition,  cited  in  Burton's 
"  Gold  Mines  of  Midian,"  to  the  effect  that  when  Allah  deter- 
mined to  create  the  horse,  He  called  the  South  Wind  and  said, 
"  I  desire  to  draw  from  thee  a  new  being,  condense  thyself  by 
parting  with  thy  fluidity."  The  Creator  then  took  a  handful 
of  this  element,  blew  upon  it  the  breath  of  life,  and  the  noble 
quadruped  appeared.  But  the  horse  complained  against  his 
Maker.  His  neck  was  too  short  to  reach  the  distant  grass 
blades  on  the  march ;  his  back  had  no  hump  to  steady  a  sad- 
dle ;  his  hoofs  were  sharp  and  sank  deep  into  the  sand ;  and 


THE  LAND  OF  THE   CAMEL  89 

he  added  many  similar  grievances.  Whereupon  Allah  created 
the  camel  to  prove  the  foolishness  of  his  complaint.  The  horse 
shuddered  at  the  sight  of  what  he  wanted  to  become,  and  this 
is  the  reason  every  horse  starts  when  meeting  its  caricature  for 
the  first  time.  The  camel  may  not  be  beautiful,  (although  the 
Arabic  lexicon  shows  that  the  words  for  ^^ pretty  "  and  '■^  cameV^ 
are  related)  but  he  is  surpassingly  useful. 

This  animal  is  found  in  Persia,  Asia  Minor,  Afghanistan, 
Beluchistan,  Mongolia,  Western  China,  Northern  India,  Syria, 
Turkey,  North  Africa  and  parts  of  Spain,  but  nowhere  so  gen- 
erally or  so  finely  developed  as  in  Arabia.  The  two  main 
species,  not  to  speak  of  varieties,  are  the  Southern,  Arabian 
one-humped  camel  and  the  Northern,  Bactrian  two-humped 
camel.  Each  is  specially  adapted  to  its  locality.  The  Bac- 
trian camel  is  long-haired,  tolerant  of  the  intense  cold  of  the 
steppes  and  is  said  to  eat  snow  when  thirsty.  The  Arabian 
species  is  short-haired,  intolerant  of  cold,  but  able  to  endure 
thirst  and  extreme  heat.  It  is  incredible  to  Arabs  that  any 
camel-kind  should  have  a  double  hump.  A  camel  differs  from 
a  dromedary  in  nothing  save  blood  and  breed.  The  camel  is 
a  pack-horse ;  the  dromedary  a  race-horse.  The  camel  is 
thick-built,  heavy-footed,  ungainly,  jolting ;  the  dromedary 
has  finer  hair,  lighter  step,  is  easy  of  pace  and  more  enduring 
of  thirst.  A  caravan  of  camels  is  a  freight-train  ;  a  company 
of  Oman  thelul-x\A&x%  is  a  limited  express.  The  ordinary  car- 
avan travels  six  hours  a  day  and  three  miles  an  hour,  but  a 
good  dromedary  can  run  seventy  miles  a  day  on  the  stretch. 
A  tradesman  from  Aneyza  told  Doughty  that  he  had  ridden 
from  El  Kasim  to  Taif  and  back,  a  distance  of  over  700  miles, 
in  fifteen  days  !  Mehsan  Allayda  once  mounted  his  dromedary 
after  the  Friday  midday  prayer  at  El-Aly  and  prayed  the  next 
Friday  in  the  great  Mosque  at  Damascus  about  440  miles  dis- 
tant. The  Haj-road  post-rider  at  Ma'an  can  deliver  a  message 
at  Damascus,  it  is  said,  at  the  end  of  three  days ;  the  distance 
is  over  200  miles. 


90  ARABM,    THE   CRADLE   OF  ISLAM 

The  Arabs  have  a  saying  that  "  the  camel  is  the  greatest  of 
all  blessings  given  by  Allah  to  mankind."  One  is  not  sur- 
prised that  the  meditative  youth  of  Mecca  who  led  the  camels 
of  Khadiyah,  to  Syria  and  back  by  the  desert  way,  should 
appeal  to  the  unbelievers  in  Allah  and  His  prophet  in  the 
words,  "And  do  ye  not  look  then  at  the  camel  how  she  is 
created?'^     (Surah  Ixxxviii.  17  of  the  Koran.) 

To  describe  the  camel  is  to  describe  God's  goodness  to  the 
desert-dwellers.  Everything  about  the  animal  shows  evident 
design.  His  long  neck,  gives  wide  range  of  vision  in  desert 
marches  and  enables  him  to  reach  far  to  the  meagre  desert 
shrubs  on  either  side  of  his  pathway.  The  cartilaginous  texture 
of  his  mouth,  enables  him  to  eat  hard  and  thorny  plants — the 
pasture  of  the  desert.  His  ears  are  very  small,  and  his  nostrils 
large  for  breathing,  but  are  specially  capable  of  closure  by 
valve-like  folds  against  the  fearful  Simoon.  His  eyes  are 
prominent,  but  protected  by  a  heavy  overhanging  upper-lid, 
limiting  vision  upward  thus  guarding  from  the  direct  rays  of 
the  noon  sun.  His  cushioned  feet  are  peculiarly  adapted  for 
ease  of  the  rider  and  the  animal  alike.  Five  horny  pads  are 
given  him  to  rest  on  when  kneeling  to  receive  a  burden  or  for 
repose  on  the  hot  sand.  His  hump  is  not  a  fictional  but  a  real 
and  acknowledged  reserve  store  of  nutriment  as  well  as  nature's 
packsaddle  for  the  commerce  of  ages.  His  water  reservoirs  in 
connection  with  the  stomach,  enable  him  when  in  good  condi- 
tion to  travel  for  five  days  without  water.  Again,  the  camel 
alone  of  all  ruminants  has  incisor-teeth  in  the  upper  jaw,  which, 
with  the  peculiar  structure  of  his  other  teeth,  make  his  bite, 
the  animal's  first  and  main  defence,  most  formidable.  The 
skeleton  of  the  camel  is  full  of  proofs  of  design.  Notice,  for 
example,  the  arched  backbone  constructed  in  such  a  way  as 
to  sustain  the  greatest  weight  in  proportion  to  the  span  of 
the  supports;  a  strong  camel  can  bear  1,000  pounds'  weight, 
although  the  usual  load  in  Oman  is  not  more  than  600  pounds. 

The  camel  is  a  domestic  animal  in  the  full  sense  of  the  word, 


THE  LAND  OF  THE   CAMEL  91 

for  the  Arabian  domicile  is  indebted  to  the  camel  for  nearly  all 
it  holds.  All  that  can  be  obtained  from  the  animal  is  of  value. 
Fuel,  milk,  excellent  hair  for  tents,  ropes,  shawls  and  coarser 
fabrics  are  obtained  from  the  living  animal;  and  flesh-food, 
leather,  bones  and  other  useful  substances  from  the  dead. 
Even  the  footprints  of  the  camel  though  soon  obliterated,  are 
of  special  value  in  the  desert.  A  lighter  or  smaller  foot  would 
leave  no  tracks,  but  the  camel's  foot  leaves  data  for  the  Bedouin 
science  of  Athar — the  art  of  navigation  for  the  ship  of  the 
desert.  Camel  tracks  are  gossip  and  science,  history  and 
philosophy  to  the  Arab  caravan.  A  camel-march  is  the  standard 
measure  of  distance  in  all  Arabia ;  and  the  price  of  a  milch- 
camel  the  standard  of  value  in  the  interior.  When  they  have 
little  or  no  water  the  miserable  nomads  rinse  their  hands  in 
camel's  water  and  the  nomad  women  wash  their  babes  in  it. 
Camel's-milk  is  the  staple  diet  of  thousands  in  Arabia  even 
though  it  be  bitter  because  of  wormwood  pasturage. 

As  to  the  character  of  the  camel  and  its  good  or  evil  nature 
authorities  differ.  Lady  Ann  Blunt  considers  the  camel  the 
most  abused  and  yet  the  most  patient  animal  in  existence. 
Palgrave,  on  the  other  hand,  thus  describes  the  stupidity  and 
ugly  temper  of  the  beast:  "  I  have,  while  in  England,  heard 
and  read  more  than  once  of  the  docile  camel.  If  docile  means 
stupid,  well  and  good ;  in  such  a  case  the  camel  is  the  very 
model  of  docility.  But  if  the  epithet  is  intended  to  designate 
an  animal  that  takes  an  interest  in  its  rider  so  far  as  a  beast  can, 
that  obeys  from  a  sort  of  submissive  or  half  fellow-feeling  with 
its  master,  like  the  horse  and  elephant,  then  I  say  that  the 
camel  is  by  no  means  docile,  very  much  the  contrary.  He 
will  never  attempt  to  throw  you  off  his  back,  such  a  trick  be- 
ing far  beyond  his  limited  comprehension ;  but  if  you  fall  off, 
he  will  never  dream  of  stopping  for  you  ;  and  if  turned  loose 
it  is  a  thousand  to  one  he  will  never  find  his  way  back  to  his 
accustomed  home  or  pasture.  One  only  symptom  will  he  give 
that  he  is  aware  of  his  rider,  and  that  is  when  the  latter  is 


92  ARABIA,    THE   CRADLE   OF  ISLAM 

about  to  mount  him,  for  on  such  an  occasion,  instead  of  ad- 
dressing him  in  the  style  of  Balaam's  more  intelligent  beast, 
'  Am  not  I  thy  camel  upon  which  thou  hast  ridden  ever  since 
I  was  thine  unto  this  day  ?  '  he  will  bend  back  his  long  snaky 
neck  toward  his  master,  open  his  enormous  jaws  to  bite,  if  he 
dared,  and  roar  out  a  tremendous  sort  of  groan,  as  if  to  com- 
plain of  some  entirely  new  and  unparalleled  injustice  about  to  be 
done  him.  In  a  word  he  is  from  first  to  last  an  undomesticated 
and  savage  animal  rendered  serviceable  by  stupidity  alone. 
Neither  attachment  nor  even  habit  can  impress  him ;  never 
tame,  though  not  wide-awake  enough  to  be  exactly  wild." 
We  can  bear  witness  that  the  camels  we  have  ridden  in 
Hassa  and  Yemen  were  altogether  more  kindly  than  the  ugly 
creature  of  Palgrave. 

The  chief  authorities  on  the  interior  of  Oman  were,  until 
recent  date,  Niebuhr,  Wellsted  (1835),  Whitelock  (1838), 
Eloy  (1843)  and  Palgrave,  (1863).  Palgrave,  however,  only 
visited  the  coast  and  his  account  of  the  interior  and  its  history 
is  pure  romance.  Later  travellers  have  visited  the  chief  cities 
of  Jebel  Achdar  and  corroborated  the  accuracy  of  Lieutenant 
Wellsted  in  his  "Travels  in  Arabia."  Unfortunately  Well- 
sted's  acquaintance  even  with  colloquial  Arabic  was  very 
limited  and  he  frankly  avows  that  he  encountered  serious  diffi- 
culties in  understanding  the  people.  "  Wellsted's  map,"  says 
Badger,  "is  the  only  one  of  the  province  which  we  possess 
drawn  up  from  personal  observation  and  ...  it  affords  little 
or  no  certain  indication  of  the  numerous  towns  and  villages 
beyond  the  restricted  routes  of  the  travellers.  It  is  remarkable 
and  by  no  means  creditable  to  the  British  Government  in  India, 
that,  notwithstanding  our  intimate  political  and  commercial 
relations  with  Oman,  for  the  last  century,  we  know  actually 
less  of  that  country  beyond  the  coast  than  we  do  of  the  Lake 
districts  of  Africa."^  Badger  wrote  in  i860,  but  although 
Colonel  Miles  and  others  have  visited  the  region  of  Jebel 
•  "  History  of  Oman," 


THE  LAND  OF  THE  CAMEL  93 

Achdar,  all  the  country  beyond  is  still  largely  terra  incognita. 
No  one  has  ever  made  the  journey  beyond  the  range  of  moun- 
tains or  solved  the  mystery  of  Western  Oman,  which  is  still  a 
blank  on  the  best  maps  ]  nor  do  we  know  anything  of  the  land 
I  GO  miles  southwest  of  Muscat,  save  by  Arab  hearsay. 

The  highlands  of  Oman  may  be  divided  into  three  districts ; 
Ja'alan  from  Jebel  Saffan  to  Jebel  Fatlah  on  the  east.  Oman 
proper  on  the  Jebel  Achdar,  and  Ez-Zahirah  on  the  eastern 
slopes  of  Jebel  Okdat.  The  most  populous  and  fertile  district 
is  that  of  Jebel  Achdar  which  is  also  the  best  known.  The  fer- 
tility of  the  whole  region  is  wonderful  and  in  striking  contrast 
with  the  barren  rocks  of  so  large  a  part  of  the  coast.  With  a 
semi-tropical  climate,  an  elevation  of  3,000  to  5,000  feet  and 
abundant  springs  the  wadys  and  oases  of  Oman  have  awakened 
the  delight  and  amazement  of  every  traveller  who  has  ventured 
to  explore  them.  Water,  the  one  priceless  treasure  in  all 
Arabia,  here  issues  in  perennial  streams  from  many  rocky  clefts 
and  is  most  carefully  husbanded  by  the  ingenuity  of  the  people, 
for  wide  irrigation,  by  means  of  canals  or  watercourses  called 
faluj.  Wellsted  thus  describes  these  underground  aqueducts  : 
"  They  are  as  far  as  I  know  peculiar  to  this  country,  and  are 
made  at  an  expense  of  labor  and  skill  more  Chinese  than 
Arabian.  The  greater  part  of  the  surface  of  the  land  being 
destitute  of  running  streams  on  the  surface,  the  Arabs  have 
sought  in  elevated  places  for  sprmgs  or  fountains  beneath  it. 
A  channel  from  this  fountain-head  is  then,  with  a  very  slight 
descent,  bored  in  the  direction  in  which  it  is  to  be  conveyed, 
leaving  apertures  at  regular  distances  to  afford  light  and  air  to 
those  who  are  occasionally  sent  to  keep  it  clean.  In  this 
way  the  water  is  frequently  conducted  for  a  distance  of  six 
or  eight  miles,  and  an  unlimited  supply  is  thus  obtained. 
These  channels  are  about  four  feet  broad  and  two  feet  deep 
and  contain  a  clear,  rapid  stream.  Most  of  the  large  towns  or 
oases  have  four  or  five  of  these  rivulets  or  falj  (plural  faluj ) 
running  into  them.     The  isolated  spots  to  which  water  is  thus 


94  ARABIA,    THE   CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

conveyed,  possess  a  soil  so  fertile  that  nearly  every  grain,  fruit 
or  vegetable,  common  to  India,  Arab  or  Persia,  is  produced  al- 
most spontaneously ;  and  the  tales  of  the  oases  will  be  no  longer 
regarded  as  an  exaggeration,  since  a  single  step  conveys  the 
traveller  from  the  glare  and  sand  of  the  desert  into  a  fertile 
tract,  watered  by  a  hundred  rills,  teeming  with  the  most 
luxurious  vegetation." 

The  chief  caravan  routes  inland  start  from  the  coast,  at 
Sohar  through  Wady-el-Jazy,  at  Suaik  through  Wady  Thala, 
at  Barka  or  Sib  through  Wady  Mithaal  and  Wady  Zailah 
(alternative  routes)  at  Matra,  by  the  same,  and  at  Sur  through 
Wady  Falj.  On  the  eastern  side  of  the  mountain  range  the 
chief  towns  are  Rastak,  Nakhl  and  Someil.  On  the  farther 
side  we  have  Tenoof,  Behilah  and  Nezwa,  all  large  towns  well- 
watered.  "Between  these  fertile  oases  one  travels ^  sometimes 
an  entire  day  through  stony  wady,  or  over  volcanic  rock, 
climbing  a  difficult  mountain  pass,  or  crossing  a  wide  sea-like 
desert,  without  seeing  a  habitation  or  meeting  a  fellow-creature 
except  an  occasional  caravan.  Their  rifles  are  swung  over  the 
shoulders  of  the  riders,  and  their  wild  song  keeps  time  with  the 
slow  tread  of  the  camels.     .     .     . 

"From  Nakhl  it  is  a  long  day's  journey  to  Lihiga  at  the 
foot  of  Jebel  Achdar.  Two  other  beautifully  situated  moun- 
tain villages,  Owkan  and  Koia  are  in  close  proximity.  Here, 
as  well  as  on  the  mountains,  dwells  a  tribe  of  hardy  moun- 
taineers, the  Bni  Ryam.  In  features  and  habits  this  tribe  is 
quite  distinct  from  the  other  Oman  tribes.  All  over  these 
mountains  the  people  lead  a  peaceful  life,  and  the  absence  of 
fire-arms  was  noticeable  in  comparison  with  the  valley  tribes, 
where  each  man  carries  his  rifle,  often  of  the  best  English  or 
German  pattern. 

"From  Lihiga  we  began  the  ascent,  and  after  a  half-a-day 

1  The  remainder  of  the  chapter  is  quoted  from  the  letters  of  my  brother, 
Rev.  P.  J.  Zwemer,  and  the  sketch  of  Tenoof  was  drawn  by  him  on  one 
of  his  journeys. 


THE  LAND  OF  THE   CAMEL 


95 


of  most  difficult  climbing,  reached  the  top  of  the  pass  at  noon- 
day, my  barometer  registering  7,050  feet.  Here  on  a  level 
projecting  rock,  which  afforded  a  splendid  extended  view  of 
the  Wady  Mestel,  where  dwell  the  Bni  Ruweihah,  we  had  our 
lunch,  and  were  glad  to  slake  our  thirst  out  of  the  goatskin 
the  guide  carried  on  his  shoulder.  From  the  top  of  the  pass 
we  descended  to  the  level  table-land  at  a  height  of  6,200  feet, 
and  at  sunset  reached  the  ideally  beautiful  village  of  Sheraegah. 
It  is  in  a  circular  ravine  several  hundred  feet  in  depth,  and  like 


TENOOF   FROM   THE   EAST. 
From  a  pencil  sketch  by  Peter  J.  Zwemer. 

a  huge  amphitheatre  where  grow  in  terraces,  apples,  peaches, 
pomegranates,  grapes  and  other  temperate  products  in  rich 
profusion.  Ice  and  snow  are  frequently  seen  here  during  the 
winter,  and  in  summer  the  temperature  registers  no  higher  than 
80°  F.  In  March  we  had  a  temperature  of  40°,  and  enjoyed 
a  huge  fire  in  the  guest-room  where  a  hundred  Arabs  came  to 
visit  us,  and  entertained  us  with  the  recitation  of  Arabic 
poetry.  Such  an  opportunity  was  not  to  be  neglected,  and 
they,  as  an  agricultural  people,  were  interested  in  the  parable  of 
the  Sower  and  the  explanation. 


96  /iRABIA,   THE   CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

"We  pressed  on  over  the  most  difficult  mountain  roads  to 
Tenoof,  at  the  foot  of  the  mountains  on  the  further  side. 
Nizwa,  the  old  capital  of  Oman,  is  but  three  hours'  journey 
from  Tenoof.  It  has  a  large  circular  fort  about  200  feet  in 
diameter,  built  of  rough  hewn  stone  and  cement.  We  intended 
to  return  to  Muscat  along  the  valley  road  via  Someil,  but  the 
state  of  affairs  at  Nezwa  made  roads  through  hostile  territory 
unsafe,  and  we  decided  to  recross  the  mountains,  enjoying 
again  their  cool  climate  and  the  friendliness  of  the  people.  By 
riding  long  camel-stages  and  taking  short  rests,  we  were  able  to 
reach  Muscat  from  the  top  of  the  mountains  in  four  days,  hav- 
ing been  absent  on  the  journey  twenty-one  days." 


X 

THE   PEARL   ISLANDS   OF  THE   GULF 

" '  We  are  all  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest  slaves  of  one  master — 
Pearl,'  said  Mohammed  bin  Thanee  to  me  one  evening ;  nor  vv^as  the  ex- 
pression out  of  place.  All  thought,  all  conversation,  all  employment, 
turns  on  that  one  subject ;  everything  else  is  mere  by-game,  and  below 
even  secondary  consideration." — Palgrave. 

TTALF  way  down  the  Persian  Gulf,  off  the  east  Arabian 
"*■  coast,  between  the  peninsula  of  El  Katar  and  the  Turkish 
province  of  El  Hassa,  are  the  islands  of  Bahrein.^  This  name 
was  formerly  applied  to  the  entire  triangular  projection  on  the 
coast  between  the  salt-sea  of  the  gulf  and  the  fresh  water  flood 
of  the  Euphrates;  hence  its  name  Bahr-ein  "  the  two  seas." 
But  since  the  days  of  Burckhardt's  map  the  name  is  restricted 
to  the  archipelago.  The  larger  island  is  itself  often  called 
Bahrein,  while  the  next  in  size  is  named  Moharrek — "place  of 
burning."  The  Arabs  say  that  this  was  so  named  because  the 
Hindu  traders  used  it  for  cremating  their  dead. 

The  main  island  is  about  twenty-seven  miles  in  length  from 

1  These  islands  are  identified  by  Sprenger  and  others  with  Dedan  of  the 
Scriptures,  [Ezekiel  xxvii.  15),  and  were  known  to  the  Romans  by  the 
name  of  Tylos.  Pliny  writes  of  the  cotton-trees,  "  arbores  vacant  gossym- 
pinos  fertiliore  etiam  Tylo  mitiore." — (xii.  lo).  Strabo  describes  the 
Phoenician  temples  that  existed  on  the  islands,  and  Ptolemy  speaks  of  the 
pearl-fisheries  which  from  time  immemorial  flourished  along  these  coasts. 
The  geographer,  Juba,  also  tells  of  a  battle  fought  off  the  islands  between 
the  Romans  and  the  Arabs.  Ptolemy's  ancient  map  shows  how  little  was 
known  as  to  the  size  or  location  of  the  group.  Even  Niebuhr's  map, 
which  is  wonderfully  correct  in  the  main,  makes  a  great  error  in  the  posi- 
tion of  the  islands ;  in  his  day  the  two  principal  islands  were  called  Owal 
and  Arad,  names  which  still  linger. 

97 


98 


ARABIA,   THE   CRADLE   OF  ISLAM 


lya 
iKalah 
MOHARREK  L 
lElHad 


MAPOFTHE 
ISLANDS  OF 

BAHREIN. 


RaaelBarr 


north  to  south,  and  ten  miles  in  breadth.  Toward  the  centre 
there  is  a  shghtly  elevated  table-land,  mostly  barren.  Twelve 
miles  from  the  northern  end  is  a  clump  of  dark  volcanic  hills, 
400  feet  high,  called  Jebel  Dokhan,  "Mountain  of  Smoke." 
The  northern  half  of  the  island  is  well  watered  by  abundant 
fresh-water  springs,  always  luke-warm  in  temperature.  This 
part  of  the  island  is  covered  with  beautiful  gardens  of  date- 


THE  PEARL   ISLANDS  OF  THE   GULF  99 

palms,  pomegranate,  and  other  trees.  The  coast  is  everywhere 
low,  and  the  water  shallow  for  a  long  distance.  There  is  no 
pier  or  jetty  anywhere,  so  that,  except  at  high  water,  boats 
anchor  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  shore. 

The  total  population  of  the  islands  is  estimated  at  nearly 
60,000,  all  of  them  Moslems  with  the  exception  of  about  100 
Banian  traders  from  Sindh,  India.  Menamah,  the  large  town 
on  the  northeast  point  of  the  island,  with  perhaps  10,000  in- 
habitants, is  built  along  the  shore  for  about  a  mile ;  the  houses 
are  mostly  poor,  many  being  mere  mat-huts.  This  town  is  the 
market-place  and  commercial  centre  for  the  whole  group. 
Here  is  the  post  office  and  custom-house  and  here  the  bulk  of 
the  trade  is  carried  on  for  the  whole  island.  A  short  distance 
from  Menamah  is  the  old  town  of  Belad  le  Kadim,  with  ruins 
of  better  buildings  and  a  fine  mosqile  with  two  minarets.  The 
mosque  is  of  very  early  date,  for  the  older  Cufic  character  is  on 
all  its  inscriptions,  covered  over  m.  some  places  by  more  recent 
carving  and  inscriptions  in  later  Arabic. 

The  largest  spring  on  the  islands  is  called  El  Adhari,  "the 
virgins."  It  issues  from  a  reservoir  thirty  yards  across,  and  at 
least  thirty  feet  deep,  flowing  in  a  stream  six  or  eight  feet  wide 
and  two  feet  deep.  This  is  remarkable  for  Arabia,  and  gives 
some  idea  of  the  abundant  supply  of  water.  Under  the  sea, 
near  the  island  of  Moharrek,  are  fresh-water  springs  always 
covered  with  a  fathom  of  salt  water.  The  natives  lower  a  hol- 
low, weighted  bamboo  through  which  the  fresh  water  gushes  out 
a  few  inches  above  sea-level.  The  source  of  these  fresh-water 
springs  of  Bahrein  must  be  on  the  mainland  of  Arabia,  as  all 
the  opposite  coast  shows  a  similar  phenomena.  Apparently 
the  River  Aftaji  marked  on  old  maps  of  the  peninsula  as 
emptying  into  the  Persian  Gulf  near  Bahrein  was  an  imder- 
groiind  river,  known  to  the  older  geographers. 

If  Egypt  is  the  gift  of  the  Nile,  Bahrein  may  well  be  called 
the  gift  of  the  pearl-oyster.  Nothing  else  gave  the  islands 
their  ancient  history,  and  nothing  so  much  gives  them  their 


100  ARABIA,   THE   CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

present  importance.  The  pearl-fisheries  are  the  one  great  in- 
dustry of  Bahrein.  They  are  carried  on  every  year  from  June 
until  October,  and  even  for  a  longer  period,  if  hot  weather  sets 
in  earlier.  Nearly  all  the  island  population  are  engaged  in  the 
work  in  some  way,  and  during  the  season  there  is  only  one 
topic  of  conversation  in  the  coffee-shops  and  the  evening- 
mejlis, — PEARLS.  The  pearl  has  this  distinction  above  all 
other  precious  stones,  that  it  requires  no  human  hand  to  bring 
out  its  beauties.  By  modern  scientists,  pearls  are  believed  to 
be  the  result  of  an  abnormal  secretion,  caused  by  the  irritation 
of  the  moUusk's  shell  by  some  foreign  substance — in  short,  a 
disease  of  the  pearl-oyster.  But  it  is  not  surprising  that  the 
Arabs  have  many  curious  superstitions  as  to  the  cause  of  pearl- 
formation.  Their  poets  tell  of  how  the  monsoon  rains  falling 
on  the  banks  of  Ceylon  and  Bahrein  find  chance  lodgment  in 
the  opened  mouth  of  the  pearl-oyster.  Each  drop  distills  a 
gem,  and  the  size  of  the  raindrop  determines  the  luck  of  the 
future  diver.  Heaven-born  and  cradled  in  the  deep  blue  sea, 
it  is  the  purest  of  gems  and,  in  their  eyes,  the  most  precious. 

Not  only  in  its  creation,  but  in  its  liberation  from  its  prison- 
house  under  ten  fathoms  of  water  the  pearl  costs  pain  and  sac- 
rifice. So  far  as  this  can  be  measured  in  pounds,  shillings  and 
pence,  this  cost  is  easy  of  computation.  The  total  value  of 
pearls  exported  from  Bahrein  in  1896  was  ^303,941  sterling 
(^1,500,000).  The  number  of  boats  from  Bahrein  engaged 
in  the  fisheries  is  about  nine  hundred  and  the  cost  of  bringing 
one  boat's  share  to  the  surface  is  4,810  rupees  (about  $1,600).' 
Hundreds  of  craft  also  come  to  the  oyster-banks  from  other 
ports  on  the  gulf.  It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  say  that  the 
pearl  divers  do  not  receive  the  amount  fairly  due  them  for  their 
toil.  They  are  one  and  all  victims  of  the  "truck-system"  in 
its  worst  form,  being  obliged  to  purchase  all  supplies,  etc., 

1  This  cost  is  divided  as  follows :  Fishing  smack  r.  400 ;  wages  of  10 
divers  r.  2,000 ;  wages  of  1 2  rope-holders  r.  2,400 ;  apparatus  r.  40. 
Total  rttj>ee5  4,810. 


THE   VILLAGE   OF   MEXAMAH,    BAHREIN'   ISLANDS 


A    BAHREIN    HARBOR    BOAT 


THE  PEARL   ISLANDS  OF  THE   GULF  101 

from  their  masters.  They  are  consequently  so  much  in  debt 
to  him  as  often  to  make  them  practically  his  slaves.  The  boats 
are  generally  owned  by  the  merchants,  and  the  crew  are  paid 
at  a  low  rate  for  a  whole  year's  work,  only  receiving  a  small 
extra  allowance  when  they  bring  up  pearls  of  special  size  or 
brilliancy.  In  the  winter  season  these  divers  are  out  of  work, 
and  consequently  incur  large  debts  which  are  charged  to  the 
next  season's  account.  By  force  of  circumstances  and  age- 
long practice  the  islanders  are  also  much  given  to  the  vice  of 
gambling  on  the  market.  Even  the  poorest  fisherman  Avill  lay 
his  wager — and  lose  it.  It  is  not  the  thirty  thousand  fishermen 
of  the  gulf  with  their  more  than  five  thousand  boats  who  grow 
rich  in  the  pearl-fishing  business ;  the  real  profit  falls  to  those 
who  remain  on  shore — the  Arab  and  Hindu  brokers  of  Bombay 
who  deal  direct  with  Berlin,  London  and  Paris.  A  pearl  often 
trebles  in  value  by  changing  hands,  even  before  it  reaches  the 
Bombay  market. 

The  divers  follow  the  most  primitive  method  in  their  work. 
Their  boats  are  such  as  their  ancestors  used  before  the  Portu- 
guese were  expelled  from  Bahrein  in  1622.  Even  Sinbad  the 
sailor  might  recognize  every  rope  and  the  odd  spoon-shaped 
oars.  These  boats  are  of  three  kinds,  very  similar  in  general 
appearance,  but  differing  in  size,  called  Bakaret,  Shi/a'ee  and 
Bated}  All  of  the  boats  have  good  lines  and  are  well-built 
by  the  natives  from  Indian  timber.  For  the  rest,  all  is  of 
Bahrein  manufacture  except  their  pulley-blocks,  which  come 
from  Bombay.  Sailcloth  is  woven  at  Menamah  and  ropes  are 
twisted  of  date-fibre  in  rude  rope-walks  which  have  no  ma- 
chinery worth  mentioning.  Even  the  long,  soft  iron  nails  that 
hold  the  boats  together  are  hammered  out  on  the  anvil  one  by 
one  by  Bahrein  blacksmiths. 

Each  boat  has  a  sort  of  figure-head,  called  the  kubait,  gen- 
erally covered  with  the  skin  of  a  sheep  or  goat  which  was 

1  The  MasJiooah  is  a  much  smaller  boat,  like  the  English  jolly-boat,  and 
is  used  in  the  harbor  and  for  short  journeys  around  the  islands. 


102  ARABIA,   THE   CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

sacrificed  when  the  boat  was  first  launched.  This  is  one  of  the 
Semitic  traits  which  appear  in  various  forms  all  over  Arabia — 
blood-sacrifice — and  which  has  Islam  never  uprooted.  All  the 
fishermen  prefer  to  go  out  in  a  boat  which  has  cut  a  covenant 
of  blood  with  Neptune.  The  larger  boats  used  in  diving  hold 
from  twenty  to  forty  men,  less  than  half  of  whom  are  divers, 
while  the  others  are  rope-holders  and  oarsmen.  One  man  in 
each  boat  is  called  El  Miisully,  i.  e.,  the  one-who-prays,  be- 
cause his  sole  daily  duty  is  to  take  charge  of  the  rope  of  any 
one  who  stops  to  pray  or  eat.  He  has  no  regular  work,  and 
when  not  otherwise  engaged  vicariously  mends  ropes  and  sails 
or  cooks  the  rice  and  fish  over  charcoal  embers.  He  is  there- 
fore also  called  El  Gillas,  "  the  sitter,"  very  suggestive  of  his 
sinecure  office. 

The  divers  wear  no  elaborate  diving-suit,  but  descend 
clothed  only  in  their  Jitaam  and  khabaat.  The  first  is  a  true 
pince-tiez  or  clothespin-like  clasp  for  their  nostrils.  It  is 
made  of  two  thin  slices  of  horn  fastened  together  with  a  rivet 
or  cut  out  whole  in  a  quarter  circle  so  as  to  fit  the  lower 
part  of  the  nose  and  keep  out  the  water.  It  has  a  perforated 
head  through  which  a  string  passes  and  which  suspends  it  from 
the  divers  neck  when  not  in  use.  Khabaat  are  "  finger-hats" 
made  of  leather  and  thrice  the  length  of  an  ordinary  thimble. 
They  are  worn  to  protect  the  fingers  in  gathering  the  pearl- 
shells  from  the  sea-bottom ;  at  the  height  of  the  pearl  season 
large  baskets  full  of  all  sizes  of  these  finger-caps  are  exposed 
for  sale  in  the  bazaar.  Each  diver  uses  two  sets  {twenty)  in  a 
season.  A  basket,  called  dajeen,  and  a  stone-weight  complete 
the  diver's  outfit.  This  stone,  on  which  the  diver  stands  when 
he  plunges  down  feet -first,  is  fastened  to  a  rope  passing  be- 
tween his  toes  and  is  immediately  raised ;  another  rope  is  at- 
tached to  the  diver  and  his  basket  by  which  he  gives  the  signal 
and  is  drawn  up.  The  best  divers  remain  below  only  two  or 
three  minutes  at  most,  and  when  they  come  up  are  nine-tenths 
suffocated.     Many  of  them  are  brought  up  unconscious  and 


THE  PE/1RL   ISLANDS  OF  THE    GULF  103 

often  cannot  be  brought  to  life.  Deafness,  and  suppuration  of 
the  ear,  due  to  carelessness  or  perforated  ear-drums,  caused  by 
the  enormous  pressure  of  the  water  at  such  depths,  are  com- 
mon among  divers.  Rheumatism  and  neuralgia  are  universal 
and  the  pearl-fishers  are  the  great  exception  among  the  Arabs 
in  not  possessing  beautiful  teeth. 

Sharks  are  plentiful  and  it  is  not  a  rare  thing  for  them  to  at- 
tack divers.  But  the  Bahrein  divers  are  more  fearful  of  a 
small  species  of  devil-fish  which  lays  hold  of  any  part  of  the 
body  and  draws  blood  rapidly.  Against  this  monster  of  the 
sea  they  guard  themselves  by  wearing  an  "overall  "  of  white 
cloth  during  the  early  part  of  the  season  when  it  frequents  the 
banks.  Their  tales  of  horror  regarding  the  devil-fish  equal 
those  of  Victor  Hugo  in  his  "  Toilers  of  the  Sea." 

The  divers  remain  out  in  their  boats  as  long  as  their  supply 
of  fresh  Avater  lasts,  often  three  weeks  or  even  more.  Sir 
Edwin  Arnold's  lines  are  thus  not  as  correct  as  they  are  beau- 
tiful : 

"  Dear  as  the  wet  diver  to  the  eyes 
Of  his  pale  wife  who  waits  and  weeps  on  shore 
By  sands  of  Bahrein  in  the  Persian  Gulf; 
Plunging  all  day  in  the  blue  waves ;  at  night, 
Having  made  up  his  tale  of  precious  pearls, 
Rejoins  her  in  their  hut  upon  the  shore." 

When  the  pearl-oysters  are  brought  up  they  are  left  on  deck 
over  night  and  the  next  morning  are  opened  by  means  of  a 
curved  knife,  six  inches  long,  called  miflaket.  Before  the  days 
of  English  commerce  the  mother-of-pearl  was  thrown  away  as 
worthless.  Now  it  has  a  good  market-value  and  (after  being 
scraped  free  of  the  small  parasites  that  infest  the  outer  shell)  is 
packed  in  wooden  crates  and  exported  in  large  quantities.  The 
total  value  of  this  export  in  1897  was  ^Sy^9\  (^28,000). 
The  Arabs  have  asked  me  in  amazement  what  in  the  world  the 
"  Franks  "  do  with  empty  sea-shells;  and  some  tell  idle  tales  of 


104  ARABIA,    THE   CRADLE   OF  ISLAM 

how  they  are  ground  up  into  pearl  dust  and  pressed  into  artifi- 
cial gems,  or  are  used  as  a  veneer  to  cover  brick  houses. 

On  shore  the  pearls  are  classified  by  the  merchants,  accord- 
ing to  weight,  size,  shape,  color  and  brilliancy.  There  are 
button-pearls,  pendants,  roundish,  oval,  flat,  and  perfect 
pearls ;  pearls,  white,  yellow,  golden,  pink,  blue,  azure,  green, 
grey,  dull  and  black ;  seed-pearls  the  size  of  grains  of  sand 
and  pearls  as  large  as  an  Arab's  report,  emphasized  with  fre- 
quent wallahs,  can  make  them.  I  have  seen  a  pendant  pearl 
the  size  of  a  hazelnut  worth  a  few  thousand  rupees  but  there 
are  Arabs  who  will  swear  by  the  prophet's  beard  (each  hair  of 
which  is  sacred  !)  that  they  have  brought  up  pearls  as  large  as 
a  pigeon's  egg.  The  pearl  brokers  carry  their  wares  about  tied 
in  bags  of  turkey-red  calico ;  they  weigh  them  in  tiny  brass 
scales  and  learn  their  exact  size  by  an  ingenious  device  con- 
sisting of  a  nest  of  brass  sieves,  called  taoos,  six  in  number, 
with  apertures  slightly  differing  in  size.  The  pearls  are  put 
into  the  largest  sieve  first ;  those  that  do  not  fall  through  its 
pea-sized  holes  are  called,  lias,  "chief";  such  are  generally 
pearls  of  great  price,  although  their  value  depends  most  on 
weight  and  perfection  of  form.  The  second  size  is  called 
Batu  "belly,"  and  the  third  Dhail,  "tail."  Color  has  only  a 
fashion-value ;  Europe  prefers  white  and  the  Orient  the  golden- 
yellow  ;  black  pearls  are  not  highly  esteemed  by  Orientals. 

Before  they  are  shipped  the  large  pearls  are  cleaned  in  reeta 
a  kind  of  native  soap-powder,  and  the  smaller  ones  in  soft 
brown  sugar ;  then  they  are  tied  up  in  calico  and  sold  in  lots 
by  weight,  each  bundle  being  supposed  to  contain  pearls  of 
average  equal  value.  How  it  is  possible  to  collect  custom  dues 
on  pearls  among  a  people  whose  consciences  rival  their  wide 
breast-pockets  in  concealing  capacity,  surpasses  comprehension. 
But  the  thing  is  done,  for  the  farmer  of  the  custom  dues  grows 
rich  and  the  statistics  of  export  are  not  pure  guess-work. 

The  Bahrein  islands  also  produce  quantities  of  dates,  and  there 
is  an  export  trade  in  a  remarkably  fine  breed  of  asses,  celebrated 


THE  PEARL  ISLANDS  OF  THE   GULF  105 

all  over  the  Persian  Gulf,  A  good  Bahrein  donkey  is  easy  to 
ride  and  almost  as  good  a  roadster  as  an  average  horse.  The 
only  manufactures,  beside  sail-sheeting,  are  coarse  cloth  for 
turbans,  and  reed-mats  of  very  fine  texture.  The  chief  im- 
ports are  rice,  timber  and  piece-goods  for  which  Bahrein  is  the 
depot  for  all  eastern  Arabia.  Three  sights  are  shown  to  the 
stranger-tourist  to  the  islands  of  Bahrein :  the  pearl-fisheries, 
the  fresh-water  springs,  and  the  ancient  ruins  of  an  early  civi- 
lization at  the  village  of  Ali.  These  ruins  are  the  "  bayoot  el 
owalin  "  the  dwellings  of  the  first  inhabitants,  who  are  believed 
to  have  been  destroyed  by  Allah  because  of  their  wickedness. 
An  hour's  ride  through  the  date  gardens  and  past  the  minarets 
brings  us  to  the  village  of  Ali.  It  can  generally  be  seen  from 
a  good  distance  because  of  the  smoke  which  rises  from  the 
huge  ovens  where  pottery  is  baked.  The  potter  turns  his 
wheel  to-day  and  fashions  the  native  water-jars  with  deft  hand 
utterly  ignorant  and  careless  of  the  curious  sepulchral  tumuli 
which  cast  their  shade  at  his  feet.  South  and  west  of  the 
village  the  whole  plain  is  studded  with  mounds,  at  least  three 
hundred  of  them,  the  largest  being  about  forty  feet  in  height. 
Only  two  or  three  have  ever  been  opened  or  explored.  Theo- 
dore Bent  in  company  with  his  wife  explored  these  in  1889, 
with  meagre  results,  but  no  further  investigations  have  been 
made  though  it  is  a  field  that  may  yet  yield  large  results. 
M.  Jules  Oppert,  the  French  Assyriologist,  and  others  regard  the 
island  as  an  extremely  old  centre  of  civilization  and  it  is  now 
well  known  that  the  first  settlements  from  ancient  Babylonia 
were  in  the  Persian  Gulf  which  then  extended  as  far  north  as 
Mugheir,  near  Suk-es  Shiukh.  But  those  first  settlers  probably 
went  to  the  coasts  of  Africa  and  to  the  kingdoms  of  Southern 
Arabia,  in  which  case  Bahrein  was  on  their  line  of  travel.  It 
must  always  have  been  a  depot  for  shipping  because  of  its 
abundant  water-supply  in  a  region  where  fresh-water  is  gen- 
erally scarce.  The  mounds  at  Ali  probably  date  from  this 
very  early  period  3  although  no  corroboration  in  the  shape  of 


106  ARABIA,    THE   CRADLE   OF  ISLAM 

cylinders  or  bricks  bearing  inscriptions  has  yet  been  found,  the 
character  of  the  structures  found  in  the  mounds  is  undoubted 
proof  of  their  great  antiquity. 

The  larger  mound  opened  by  Bent,  now  consists  of  two 
rock-built  chambers  of  very  large  stones,  square  masonry,  and 
no  trace  of  an  arch  or  a  pillar.  The  lower  chamber  is  twenty- 
eight  feet  in  length,  five  feet  in  width,  and  eight  feet  high  ;  it 
has  four  niches  or  recesses  about  three  feet  deep,  two  at  the  end 
of  the  passage  and  two  near  its  entrance.  The  upper  cham- 
ber is  of  the  same  length  as  the  lower,  but  its  width  is  six 
inches  less,  and  its  height  only  four  feet  eight  inches.  The 
lower  passage  is  hand  plastered  as  an  impression  of  the  ma- 
son's hand  on  the  side  wall  still  proves.  If  diggings  were 
made  below  the  mounds  or  other  mounds  were  opened  better 
results  might  follow,  and  perhaps  inscriptions  or  cylinders 
would  be  discovered.  A  year  or  two  ago  a  jar  containing  a 
large  number  of  gold  coins  was  found  near  Ali  by  some  na- 
tive workmen ;  these  however  were  Cufic  and  of  a  much  later 
period  than  the  mounds.  Near  Yau  and  Zillag,  on  the  other 
side  of  the  island  there  are  also  ruins  and  very  deep  wells  cut 
through  solid  rock  with  deep  rope-marks  on  the  curbing ;  per- 
haps these  also  are  of  early  date.  On  the  island  of  Moharrek 
there  is  a  place  called  Ed  Dair,  "the  monastery"  with  ruins 
of  what  the  Arabs  call  a  church ;  whether  this  is  of  Portu- 
guese date  like  the  castle  or  goes  back  to  a  much  earlier  period 
before  Mohammed,  we  cannot  tell. 

The  climate  of  Bahrein  is  not  as  bad  as  it  is  often  described 
by  casual  visitors.  No  part  of  the  Persian  Gulf  can  be  called 
a  health  resort,  but  neither  is  the  climate  unhealthful  at  all 
seasons  of  the  year.  In  March  and  April,  October,  Novem- 
ber and  December  the  weather  is  delightful,  indoor  tempera- 
tures seldom  rising  above  85°  F.,  or  falling  below  60°  F.  When 
north  winds  blow  in  January  and  February  it  is  often  cold 
enough  for  a  fire ;  these  are  the  rainy  months  of  the  year  and 
least  healthful,  especially  to  the  natives  in  their  badly-built 


THE  PEARL  ISLANDS  OF  THE   GULF  107 

mat-huts.  From  May  to  September  inclusive  is  the  hot  season, 
although  the  nights  remain  cool  and  the  heat  is  tempered  by 
sea-breezes  (called,  El  Barili),  until  the  middle  of  June. 
Heavy  dews  at  night  are  common  and  make  the  atmosphere 
murky  and  oppressive  when  there  is  no  sea-breeze.  Land- 
breezes  from  the  west  and  south  continue  irregularly  through- 
out the  entire  summer.  When  they  fail  the  thermometer  leaps 
to  over  one  hundred  and  remains  there  day  and  night  until  the 
ripples  on  the  stagnant,  placid  sea  proclaim  a  respite  from  the 
torture  of  sweltering  heat.  A  record  of  temperature,  kept  at 
Menamah  village  in  the  summer  of  1893,  shows  a  minimum 
'  indoor  temperature  of  85°  and  a  maximum  of  107°  F.,  in  the 
shade.  The  prevailing  wind  at  Bahrein,  and  in  fact  all  over 
the  Gulf,  is  the  shemmal  or  Northwester  changing  its  direction 
slightly  with  the  trend  of  the  coast.  The  air  during  a  shem- 
mal is  generally  very  dry  and  the  sky  cloudless,  but  in  winter 
they  are  sometimes  at  first  accompanied  by  rain-squalls.  In 
winter  they  are  very  severe  and  endanger  the  shipping.  The 
only  other  strong  wind  is  called  kaus  ;  it  is  a  southeaster  and 
blows  irregularly  from  December  to  April.  It  is  generally  ac- 
companied by  thick,  gloomy  weather,  with  severe  squalls  and 
falling  barometer.  The  saying  among  sailors  that  "  there  is  al- 
ways too  much  wind  in  the  Gulf  or  none  at  all,"  is  very  true 
of  Bahrein. 

This  saying  holds  true  also  of  the  political  history  of  the 
Gulf.  Bahrein,  because  of  its  pearl-trade  has  ever  been  worth 
contending  for  and  it  has  been  a  bone  of  contention  among  the 
neighboring  rulers  ever  since  the  naval  battle  fought  by  the 
early  inhabitants  against  the  Romans.  After  Mohammed's 
day  the  Carmathians  overran  the  islands.  Portuguese,  Arabs 
from  Oman,  Persians,  Turks  and  lastly  the  English  have  each 
in  turn  claimed  rule  or  protection  over  the  archipelago.  It  is 
sufficient  to  note  here  that  in  1867,  'Isa  bin  AH  (called  Esau  in 
Curzon's  "  Persia,"  as  if  the  name  came  from  Jacob's  brother 
instead    of  the  Arab  form  of  Jesus  !)  was  appointed  ruling 


108  yiRABU,    THE   CRADLE   OF  ISLAM 

Sheikh  by  the  British  who  deposed  his  father  Mohammed  bin 
Khalifa  for  plotting  piracy. 

The  present  Sheikh  is  a  typical  Arab  and  spends  most  of  his 
time  in  hawking  and  the  chase ;  the  religious  rule,  which  in  a 
Moslem  land  means  the  judicial  and  executive  department, 
rests  with  the  Kadi  or  Judge.  There  is  no  legislature  as  the 
law  was  laid  down  once  for  all  in  the  Koran  and  the  traditions. 
The  administration  oi  Justice  is  rare.  Oppression,  black-mail 
and  bribery  are  universal ;  and,  except  in  commerce  and  the 
slave-trade,  English  protection  has  brought  about  no  reforms 
on  the  island.  To  be  "protected"  means  here  strict  neu- 
trality as  to  the  internal  affairs  and  absolute  dictation  as  to  af- 
fairs with  other  governments.  To  "protect"  means  to  keep 
matters  in  status  quo  until  the  hour  is  ripe  for  annexation. 
Sometimes  the  process  from  the  one  to  the  other  is  so  gradual 
as  to  resemble  growth ;  in  such  a  case  it  would  be  correct  to 
speak  of  the  growth  of  the  British  Empire. 

Contact  with  Europeans  and  western  civilization  has,  how- 
ever, done  much  for  Bahrein  in  the  matter  of  disarming  prej- 
udice and  awakening  the  sluggish  mind  of  the  Arab  to  look 
beyond  his  own  "Island  of  the  Arabs."  Even  as  early  as 
1867,  Palgrave  could  write:  "From  the  maritime  and  in  a 
manner  central  position  of  Bahreyn  my  readers  may  of  them- 
selves conjecture  that  the  profound  ignorance  of  Nejd  regard- 
ing Europeans  and  their  various  classifications  is  here  ex- 
changed for  a  partial  acquaintance  with  those  topics;  thus, 
English  and  French,  disfigured  into  the  local  Ingleez  and 
Fra7icees  are  familiar  words  at  Menamah,  though  Germans  and 
Italians,  whose  vessels  seldom  or  never  visit  these  seas,  have  as 
yet  no  place  in  the  Bahreyn  vocabulary ;  while  Dutch  and 
Portuguese  seem  to  have  fallen  into  total  oblivion.  But  Rus- 
sians or  Moskop,  that  is  Muscovites,  are  alike  known  and 
feared,  thanks  to  Persian  intercourse  and  the  instinct  of  na- 
tions. Beside  the  policy  of  Constantinople  and  Teheran  are 
freely  and  at  times  sensibly  discussed  in  these  coffee-houses  no 


THE  PEARL  ISLANDS  OF  THE   GULF  109 

less  than  the  stormy  diplomacy  of  Nejd  and  her  dangerous  en- 
croachments." 

To  the  Bahrein  Arabs  Bombay  is  the  centre  of  the  world  of 
civilization,  and  he  who  has  seen  that  city  is  distinguished  as 
knowing  all  about  the  ways  of  foreigners.  So  anxious  are  the 
boys  for  a  trip  on  the  British  India  steamer  to  this  Eldorado  of 
science  and  mystery  that  they  sometimes  run  from  home  and 
go  as  stowaways  or  beg  their  passage.  This  close  contact 
with  India  has  had  its  effect  on  the  Arabic  spoken  on  the 
island  which,  although  not  a  dialect,  is  full  of  Hindustani 
words.  Of  late  years  there  has  been  a  considerable  Persian 
immigration  into  Bahrein  from  the  coast  between  Lingah  and 
Bushire,  and  next  to  Arabic,  Persian  is  the  language  most  in 
use. 


XI 

THE   EASTERN   THRESHOLD   OF   ARABIA 

"DEYOND  Bahrein  the  mainland  stretches  westward  for 
eight  hundred  miles  across  the  province  of  Hassa  and 
lower  Nejd  and  Hejaz  to  the  Red  Sea.  As  Jiddah  is  the  western 
port,  Bahrein  is  the  eastern  port  for  all  Arabia.  It  is  the  gate- 
way to  the  interior,  the  threshold  of  which  is  Hassa.  Draw  a 
line  from  Menamah  to  Katif,  then  on  to  Hof  hoof  (or  El  Hassa) 
and  thence  back  to  Menamah,  and  the  triangle  formed  will  in- 
clude every  important  town  or  village  of  Eastern  Arabia, 
North  of  that  triangle  on  the  coast  is  the  inhospitable  barren, 
thinly  populated,  country  of  the  Bni  Hajar ;  south  of  it  is  the 
peninsula  of  El  Katar;  westward  stretches  the  sandy  desert 
for  five  days'  marches  to  Riad  and  the  old  Wahabi  country. 
The  region  thus  bounded  is  really  the  whole  of  Hassa,  although 
on  maps  that  name  is  given  to  the  whole  coast  as  far  as  Busrah. 
But  neither  the  authority  of  the  Turkish  government  nor  the 
significance  of  the  word  Hassa  (low,  moist  ground)  can  be 
said  to  extend  outside  of  the  triangle. 

The  peninsula  of  El  Katar,  about  loo  miles  long  and  fifty 
broad,  is  unattractive  in  every  way  and  barren  enough  to  be 
called  a  desert.  Palgrave's  pen-picture  cannot  be  improved 
upon  :  "To  have  an  idea  of  Katar  my  readers  must  figure  to 
themselves  miles  on  miles  of  low  barren  hills,  bleak  and  sun- 
scorched,  with  hardly  a  single  tree  to  vary  the  dry  monoto- 
nous outline  ;  below  these  a  muddy  beach  extends  for  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  seaward  in  slimy  quicksands,  bordered  by  a  rim  of 
sludge  and  seaweed.  If  we  look  landwards  beyond  the  hills 
we  see  what  by  extreme  courtesy  may  be  called  pasture  land, 
dreary  downs  with  twenty  pebbles  for  every  blade  of  grass; 

110 


WB  EASTERN  THRESHOLD  OF  ARABIA  111 

and  over  this  melancholy  ground  scene,  but  few  and  far  be- 
tween, little  clusters  of  wretched,  most  wretched  earth  cot- 
tages and  palm-leaf  huts,  narrow,  ugly  and  low ;  these  are  the 
villages,  or  < towns'  (for  so  the  inhabitants  style  them)  of 
Katar.  Yet  poor  and  naked  as  is  the  land  it  has  evidently 
something  still  poorer  and  nakeder  behind  it,  something  in 
short  even  more  devoid  of  resources  than  the  coast  itself,  and 
the  inhabitants  of  which  seek  here  by  violence  what  they  can- 
not find  at  home.  For  the  villages  of  Katar  are  each  and  all 
carefully  walled  in,  while  the  downs  beyond  are  lined  with 
towers  and  here  and  there  a  castle,  huge  and  square  with  its 
little  windows  and  narrow  portals." 

The  population  of  Katar  is  not  large ;  its  principal  town  is 
Bedaa' .  All  the  inhabitants  live  from  the  sea  by  pearl-diving 
and  fishing,  and  in  the  season  send  out  two  hundred  boats. 
The  whole  peninsula  with  its  wild  Bedouin  population  is 
claimed  by  Turkey  and  is  the  dread  of  the  miserable  soldiers 
who  are  sent  there  to  preserve  peace  and  draw  precarious  pay 
while  they  shake  with  malaria  and  grow  homesick  for  Bagdad. 
The  Arabs  are  always  at  feud  with  the  government  and  it  is 
very  unsafe  outside  the  walls  after  sunset. 

The  usual  route  from  Bahrein  to  the  interior  of  Hassa  is  to 
cross  over  by  boat  to  Ojeir  on  the  mainland,  and  thence  to 
travel  by  caravan  to  Hofhoof.  In  October,  1893,  I  took  this 
route,  returning  from  the  capital  to  Katif  and  thence  back  to 
Menamah.  Embarking  at  sunset  we  landed  at  Ojeir  before 
dawn  the  next  day  and  I  found  my  way  to  a  Turkish  custom- 
house officer  to  whom  I  had  a  friendly  letter  from  a  Bahrein 
merchant.  Ojeir,  although  it  has  neither  a  bazaar  nor  any 
settled  population,  has  a  mud-fort,  a  dwarf  flagstaff  and  an  im- 
posing custom-house.  The  harbor  although  not  deep  is  pro- 
tected against  north  and  south  winds  and  is  therefore  a  good 
landing-place  for  the  immense  quantity  of  rice  and  piece-goods 
shipped  from  Bahrein  into  the  interior.  A  caravan  of  from 
two  to  three  hundred  camels  leaves  Ojeir  every  week.     For 


112  ARABIA,   THE  CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

although  the  Jebel  Shammar  country  is  probably  supplied  over- 
land from  Busrah  and  Bagdad,  the  whole  of  Southern  Nejd  re- 
ceives piece-goods,  coffee,  rice,  sugar  and  Birmingham  wares 
by  way  of  Bahrein  and  Ojeir. 

The  whole  plain  in  and  about  the  custom-house  was  piled 
with  bales  and  boxes  and  the  air  filled  with  the  noise  of  load- 
ing seven  hundred  camels.  I  struck  a  bargain  with  Salih,  a 
Nejdi,  to  travel  in  his  party  and  before  noon-prayers  we  were 
off.  The  country  for  many  hours  was  bare  desert,  here  and 
there  a  picturesque  ridge  of  sand,  and  in  one  place  a  vein  of 
greenish  limestone.  When  night  came  we  all  stretched  a 
blanket  on  the  clean  sand  and  slept  in  the  open  air ;  those  who 
had  neglected  their  water-skins  on  starting  now  satisfied  thirst 
by  scooping  a  well  with  their  hands  three  or  four  feet  deep  and 
found  a  supply  of  water.  During  the  day  the  sun  was  hot  and 
the  breeze  died  away;  but  at  night,  under  the  sparkling  stars 
and  with  a  north  wind  it  seemed,  by  contrast,  bitterly  cold. 
On  the  second  day  at  noon  we  sighted  the  palm-forests  that 
surround  Hofhoof  and  give  it,  Palgrave  says,  "  the  general 
aspect  of  a  white  and  yellow  onyx  chased  in  an  emerald  rim." 
As  we  did  not  reach  the  "emerald  rim"  until  afternoon  I 
concluded  to  remain  at  Jifr,  one  of  the  many  suburb  villages. 
Here  Salih  had  friends,  and  a  delicious  dinner  of  bread,  but- 
ter, milk  and  dates,  all  fresh,  was  one  of  many  tokens  of  hospi- 
tality. At  sunset  we  went  on  to  the  next  village,  Menazeleh, 
a  distance  of  about  three  miles  through  gardens  and  rushing 
streams  of  tepid  water.  The  next  morning  early  we  again  rode 
through  gardens  and  date-orchards  half  visible  in  the  morning 
mist.  At  seven  o'clock  the  mosques  and  walls  of  Hofhoof  ap- 
peared right  before  us  as  the  sun  lifted  the  veil ;  it  was  a  beau- 
tiful sight. 

El  Hofhoof  can  claim  a  considerable  age.  Under  the 
name  of  Hajar,  it  was  next  to  Mobarrez,  the  citadel  town  of  the 
celebrated  Bni  Kindi  and  Abd  El  Kais  (570  a.  d.).  Both  of 
these  towns,  and   in   fact  every  village   of  Hassa,   owe  their 


THE  EASTERh)  THRESHOLD  OF  ARABIA 


113 


existence  to  the  underground  watercourses,  which  are  the 
chief  characteristic  of  the  province-  everywhere  there  is  the 
same  abundance  of  this  great  blessing.  A  land  of  streams  and 
fountains, — welling  up  in  the  midst  of  the  salt  sea,  as  at 
Bahrein ;  flowing  unknown  and  unsought  under  the  dry  desert 
at  Ojeir ;  bubbling  up  in  perennial  fountains  as  at  Katif ;  or 
bursting  out  in  seven  hot  springs  that  flow,  cooling,  to  bless 
wide  fields  of  rice  and  wheat  at  Mobarrez.     The  entire  region 


ScoiujlS^^^ 


palgrave's  plan  of  hofhoof. 

is  capable  of  rich  cultivation,  and  yet  now  more  than  half  of  it 
is  desert.  There  is  not  a  man  to  till  the  ground,  and  paradise 
lies  waste  except  near  the  villages.  Elsewhere  Bedouin  robbers 
and  Turkish  taxes  prevent  cu-ltivation.  These  two  are  the 
curse  of  agriculture  all  over  the  Ottoman  provinces  of  Arabia. 
Hofhoof  itself  is  surrounded  by  gardens,  and  its  plan  gives 
a  good  idea  of  the  general  character  of  the  towns  of  Arabia. 
A  castle  or  ruler's  house ;  a  bazaar  with  surrounding  dwellings 
and  a  mud-wall  built  around  to  protect  the  whole.     The  moat 


114  ARABU,   THE  CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

is  now  dry  and  half  filled  in  with  the  debris  of  the  walls,  which 
are  not  in  good  repair.  The  town  is  nearly  a  mile  and  a-half 
across  at  its  greater  diameter,  but  the  houses  are  not  built  as 
close  together  as  is  the  custom  in  most  Oriental  towns ;  here  is 
the  pleasant  feature  of  gardens  ifiside  the  walls.  The  date- 
palm  predominates,  and  indeed  comes  to  wonderful  perfection, 
but  the  nabak,  the  papay,  the  fig  and  the  pomegranate  are  also 
in  evidence.  Indigo  is  cultivated,  and  also  cotton,  while  all  the 
region  round  about  is  green  with  fields  of  rice  and  sugar-cane 
and  vegetables, — onions,  radishes,  beans,  vetches,  and  maize. 

The  population  of  the  city  is  entirely  Moslem,  except  one 
Roman  Catholic  Christian,  who  is  the  Turkish  doctor,  and 
a  half  dozen  Jews.  The  three  Europeans  who  have  previously 
visited  and  described  Hofhoof  are.  Captain  Sadlier  (1819), 
Palgrave  (1863),  and  Colonel  Pelly  (1865).  The  first  gives  the 
population  at  15,000  and  Palgrave  speaks  of  20,000  to  30,000. 
In  187 1  when  the  Turkish  expedition  against  Nejd  took  the 
city,  they  reported  it  to  have  15,000  houses  and  200  suburb 
villages  (!)  This  shows  the  absolute  uncertainty  of  most  statis- 
tics in  regard  to  Arabia. 

El  Hassa  (Hofhoof)  is  the  first  stage  on  the  direct  caravan 
route  from  east  Arabia  to  Mecca  and  Jiddah.  Abd  Er  Rah- 
man bin  Salama,  the  Arab  Sheikh,  under  the  Turkish  governor 
of  the  Rifa'a  quarter  of  the  town  gave  me  the  following  infor- 
mation regarding  this  route.  From  Hassa  to  Riad  is  six  days 
by  camel ;  from  Riad  to  Jebel  Shammar  nine  days ;  to  Wady 
Dauasir  seven ;  and  from  Riad  to  Mecca  eighteen  days. 
That  would  be  twenty-eight  days  to  cross  the  peninsula,  not 
including  stops  on  the  road  and  travelling  at  the  rate  of  an 
ordinary  caravan,  /.  <?.,  three  miles  an  hour. 

The  Kaisariyeh  or  bazaar  of  Hofhoof  is  well  supplied  with 
all  the  usual  requirements  and  luxuries  of  the  Levant ;  weapons, 
cloth,  gold  embroidery,  dates,  vegetables,  dried  fish,  wood, 
salted  locusts,  fruit,  sandals,  tobacco,  copper-ware  and  piece- 
goods — in  irregular  confusion  as  enumerated.     Public  auctions 


THE  EASTERN  THRESHOLD  OF  ARABIA  115 

are  held  frequently  in  the  square  or  on  the  plain  outside  the 
walls.  Here,  too,  the  barbers  ply  their  trade,  and  blacksmiths 
beat  at  their  anvils  under  the  shade  of  a  date-hut.  The  Rifa'a 
quarter  has  the  best  houses,  while  the  Na'athal  has  the  largest 
number;  the  ''East-end"  in  Hofhoof  being  for  the  rich  and 
the  "West-end  "  for  the  poor,  as  is  proper  in  a  land  of  para- 
doxes. 

Hassa  is  celebrated  for  two  sorts  of  manufacture ;  cloaks  or 
abbas,  with  rich  embroidery  in  gold  and  colored  thread, 
delicately  wrought  and  of  elegant  pattern,  the  gayest  and 
costliest  garments  of  Arabia ;  and  brass  coffee-pots  of  curious 
shape  and  pretty  form,  which,  with  the  cloaks,  are  exported  all 
over  Eastern  Arabia,  even  as  far  as  Busrah  and  Muscat.  Once 
trade  flourished  and  the  merchants  grew  rich  in  this  land  of 
easy  agriculture  and  fertile  soil.  But  intestine  wars,  Wahabi 
fanaticism  and  Turkish  indolence,  extortion  and  taxation  have 
taken  away  prosperity,  and  Hassa's  capital  is  not  what  it  was  in 
the  days  of  old,  when  the  Carmathians  held  the  town. 

One  remnant  of  its  former  glory  remains;  a  unique  and 
entirely  local  coinage  called  the  Toweelah  ox  "long-bit."  It 
consists  of  a  small  copper-bar,  mixed  with  a  small  proportion  of 
silver,  about  an  inch  in  length,  split  at  one  end  and  with  a 
fissure  slightly  opened.  Along  one  or  both  of  its  flattened  sides 
run  a  few  Cufic  characters,  nearly  illegible  in  most  specimens, 
but  said  to  read :  Mohanwied-al-Saood,  i.e.,  "Mohammed 
of  the  Saood  family."  The  coin  has  neither  date  nor  motto, 
but  was  undoubtedly  made  by  one  of  the  Carmathian  Princes 
about  the  year  920  a.  d.  This  Moslem  sect  owed  its  origin  to 
a  fanatic  and  enthusiast  born  at  Cufa,  called  Carmath,  who 
first  had  a  following  about  the  year  277  of  the  Kejira.  He 
assumed  the  lofty  titles,  Guide,  Director,  the  Word,  the  Holy 
Ghost,  the  Herald  of  the  Messiah,  etc.  His  interpretation  of 
the  Koran  was  very  lax  in  the  matters  of  ablution,  fasting,  and 
pilgrimage,  but  he  increased  the  number  of  prayers  to  fifty 
daily.     He  had  twelve  apostles  among  the  Bedouins,  and  his 


116  yiR/IBM,    THE   CR/IDLE   OF  ISLAM 

sect  grew  so  rapidly  that  they  could  muster  in  the  field  107,000 
fanatical  warriors.  Cufa  and  Busrah  were  pillaged  and 
Bagdad  taken.  In  929  Abu  Taher  stormed  the  Holy  City  of 
Mecca  and  the  Carmathians  took  away  the  black  stone  in 
triumph  to  Katif.  The  centre  of  their  power  remained  at 
Hassa  for  some  years.  Here  the  coin  was  struck,  which  is  the 
only  remnant  of  their  power  and  fanaticism.  And  while  the 
Carmathian  doctrines  are  held  in  abhorrence,  their  little  bars 
of  copper  still  buy  rice  and  dates  and  stick  to  the  hands  of  the 
money-changer  in  the  bazaar. 

In  former  days  there  were  gold  and  silver  coins  of  similar 
shape.  Some  in  silver  can  yet  be  found  occasionally  inscribed 
with  the  noble  motto  in  Arabic  :  "  Honor  to  the  sober  man, 
dishonor  to  the  ambitious. ^^  When  I  was  in  Hofhoof  that 
strange,  two-tailed  copper-bar  was  worth  half  an  anna  and  dis- 
puted its  birthright  in  the  market  with  rupees  and  Indian  paper 
and  Maria  Theresa  dollars  and  Turkish  coppers.  But  how 
changed  the  bazaar  itself  would  appear  to  the  ghost  of  some 
Carmathian  warrior  of  the  ninth  century  who  first  handled  a 
"long-bit."  Even  the  Wahabis  have  disappeared  and 
tobacco,  silk,  music  and  wine  are  no  longer  deadly  sins.  Of 
these  Moslem  Puritans  many  have  left  for  Riad,  and  the  few 
that  remain  stroke  their  long  white  beards  in  horror  at  Turkish 
Effendis  in  infidel  breeches  smoking  cigarettes,  while  they  sigh 
for  the  golden  days  of  the  Arabian  Reformer. 

There  is  a  military  hospital  at  Hofhoof  with  a  surgeon  and 
doctor,  but  at  the  time  of  my  visit  there  was  a  dearth  of  medi- 
cines and  an  abominable  lack  of  sanitation.  Few  soldiers  sub- 
mit to  hospital  treatment,  preferring  to  desert  or  seek  furlough 
elsewhere,  and  nothing  is  done  for  the  Arab  population. 
Before  my  coming  cholera  raged  here  as  well  as  on  the  coast, 
and  during  my  short  visit  smallpox  was  epidemic  and  carried 
off  many,  many  children.  Thrice  awful  are  such  diseases  in 
a  land  where  a  practical  fanaticism,  under  the  pious  cloak  of 
religion,  scorns  medicine  or  preventive  measures. 


THE  EASTERN  THRESHOLD  OF  ARABIA  111 

The  government  of  the  province  of  Hassa  is  as  follows. 
The  Sandjak  (Turkish  for  administrative  division)  is  divided 
into  three  cazas,  Nejd,  Katar  and  Katif  and  a  small  garrison 
holds  each  of  these  cazas ;  600  men  at  Hof  hoof,  and  300  at 
Katar  and  Katif.  The  governor,  called  Mutaserrif  Pasha, 
resides  at  the  capital  and  kaimakams  or  sub-governors  at  the 
other  two  centres.  There  are  the  usual  Turkish  tribunals  and 
each  Arab  tribe  has  a  representative  or  go-between  to  arrange 
its  affairs  with  the  governor.  The  principal  tribes  which  at 
present  acknowledge  Turkish  occupation  and  submit  to  their 
rule  are :  El  Ajeman,  El  Morah,  Bni  Hajar,  Bni  Khaled,  Bni 
Hassara,  El  Motter,  El  Harb,  and  El  Ja'afer.  The  Turkish 
government  has  opened  three  schools  in  the  province ;  the 
total  number  of  pupils  according  to  the  Turkish  official  report 
is  3,540.  The  same  report  puts  the  entire  population  of  the 
province  at  250,000  ;  this  gives  a  fair  idea  of  the  backwardness 
of  education  even  in  this  province  which  has  always  been  re- 
markable for  book-learning.  The  large  mosque  with  its 
twenty-four  arches  and  porticoes,  smooth-plastered  and  with  a 
mat-spread  floor  is  always  full  of  mischievous  youth  learning 
the  mysteries  of  grammar  and  the  commonplaces  of  Moslem 
theology ;  but  the  days  of  poetry  and  writing  of  commentaries 
on  the  Koran  are  in  the  past;  even  the  Wahabi  merchants 
talk  of  Bombay  and  are  glad  to  get  hold  of  an  English  primer 
or  an  atlas  of  the  new  world  which  is  knocking  at  their  door 
for  admittance. 

After  four  days  spent  in  the  city  I  accepted  an  opportunity 
to  return  northward  with  a  caravan ;  I  was  not  allowed  to  go, 
however,  until  after  I  had  signed  a  paper,  which,  because  of  the 
unsafely  of  the  road  disclaimed  all  responsibility  on  the  part  of  the 
Government  should  I  come  to  lose  life,  limb  or  luggage.  A  copy 
of  this  document  is  in  my  possession,  but  the  only  foe  I  met  in 
the  desert  was — fever.  On  Tuesday  noon  our  small  party  set 
out,  not  going  through  the  large  town  of  Mobarrez  as  I  had 
hoped,  but  turning  east  and  reaching  Kilabeejeh  at  two  o'clock. 


118  ARABIA,    THE   CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

We  passed  fountains  and  streams  and  fields  of  rice  and 
swamps, — everything  very  unlike  Arabia  of  the  school-geogra- 
phy. In  four  hours,  however,  we  were  again  in  the  midst  of 
desert  where  the  sun  proved  too  hot  for  me  and  I  was  taken 
with  a  fever  which  did  not  leave  me  until  I  returned  to  Bahrein. 
The  road  continued  desert  all  the  way  to  Katif.  On  Wednes- 
day we  rode  all  night  under  the  stars  (because  of  a  false  alarm 
of  robbers)  until  nine  o'clock  next  morning.  Then  we  rested 
at  a  place  called,  with  bitter  irony,  Um  El  Hammam ;  there 
are  no  baths,  no  trees,  no  grass,  only  a  shallow  pit  of  dirty 
water  and  small  shrubbery  of  dates.  Here  we  spent  a  hot  day. 
On  Friday  morning  we  came  to  the  borders  of  Katif, — palm- 
groves,  wells,  and  ancient  aqueducts  with  curious  towers  and 
air-holes  at  intervals.  Through  gardens  and  around  by  the 
large  square  fort  we  came  to  the  sea.  At  the  custom-house, 
again,  I  found  rest  and  refreshment,  * 

Katif  has  no  good  name  among  Hassa  Arabs ;  its  location 
is  low  and  marshy;  "  its  inhabitants  are  mostly  weak  in  frame, 
sallow  in  complexion,  and  suffer  continually  from  malaria. 
The  town  itself  is  badly  built,  woefully  filthy,  damp  and  ill- 
favored  in  climate.  Yet  it  has  a  good  population  and  brisk 
trade.  The  inhabitants  are  mostly  Shiahs  of  Persian  origin 
and  are  held  in  abhorrence  by  the  Wahabis  and  the  Turks 
alike  as  little  better  than  infidels.  The  present  location  of 
Katif  corresponds  to  the  very  ancient  settlement  of  the  Gerrha 
of  the  Greek  geographers  but  no  exploration  for  ruins  has  ever 
been  made.  A  Portuguese  castle  marks  their  occupation  of 
this  coast  also  during  their  supremacy  in  the  gulf.  Katif  was 
taken  by  the  Turks  in  187 1  and  has  been  occupied  by  them 
ever  since. 

The  Arabian  coast  north  of  Katif,  all  the  way  to  Kuweit 
is  without  a  single  large  settlement.  Mostly  barren  and  in  the 
hands  of  the  predatory  and  warlike  tribe  of  Bni  Hajar,  it  is 
very  uninteresting  and  entirely  unproductive. 


XII 

THE  RIVER-COUNTRY   AND   THE   DATE-PALM 

"  The  rich  plains  of  Mesopotamia  and  Assyria  which  were  once  culti- 
vated by  a  populous  nation  and  watered  by  surprising  efforts  of  human 
industry,  are  now  inhabited,  or  rather  ravaged  by  wandering  Arabs.  So 
long  as  these  fertile  provinces  shall  remain  under  the  government,  or 
rather  anarchy  of  the  Turks  they  must  continue  deserts  in  which  nature 
dies  for  want  of  the  fostering  care  of  man." — Niebtihr  (1792). 

"IXrHAT  changes  of  history  have  left  their  records  in  ruins 
and  names  and  legends  on  the  great  alluvial  plains 
of  Northeastern  Arabia !  The  two  rivers  still  bear  their 
Bible  names,  the  Euphrates  and  JDijleh,  or  Hiddekel,  but 
nothing  else  is  left  which  could  be  called  paradise.  What 
impresses  the  traveller  first  and  most  is  that  so  large  an  extent 
of  this  fertile  region  lies  waste  and  unproductive  under  an 
effete  rule.  The  splendor  of  the  past  can  scarcely  be  believed 
because  of  the  ruin  of  the  present.  Everywhere  are  traces  of 
ancient  empires  and  yet  it  seems  incredible  as  we  watch  the 
half-naked  Arabs  ploughing  through  the  mud-banks  with  their 
wild  cattle  and  primitive  implements. 

Was  this  the  cradle  of  the  human  race  ?  Babylon  and  Nin- 
eveh are  here  for  the  archaeologist ;  Ctesiphon,  Kufa  and  Zobeir 
for  the  historian ;  Bagdad  and  Busrah  (or  Bassorah)  for  old 
Arabian  romance ;  and  Ur  of  the  Chaldees  for  the  Bible  stu- 
dent. Since  Haroun  Rashid  went  about  in  disguise  how  many 
yet  stranger  Arabian  nights  has  Bagdad  seen  !  How  surprised 
Sinbad  the  sailor  would  be  to  see  the  decay  of  Busrah,  yet 
with  a  dozen  "  smoke-ships  "  in  its  harbor  ! 

Mesopotamia,  called  by  the  Arabs  El  Jezira,  was  formerly 
limited  to  the  land  lying  between  the  two  rivers  and  south  of 

119 


120  yiRABIA,   THE   CRADLE   OF  ISLAM 

the  old  wall  by  which  they  were  connected  above  Bagdad. 
From  this  point  to  the  Persian  Gulf  the  district  was  and  is 
still  known  as  Irak-Arabi,  to  distinguish  it  from  the  Irak  of 
Persia.  Commonly,  however,  the  name  of  Mesopotamia 
(Mid-River-Country)  is  given  to  the  whole  northeastern  part 
of  Arabia.  It  has  a  total  area  of  180,000  square  miles  and 
presents  great  uniformity  in  its  physical  as  well  as  its  ethnical 
characteristics.  Arabs  live  and  Arabic  is  spoken  for  three 
hundred  miles  beyond  Bagdad  as  far  as  Diarbekr  and  Mardin ; 
but  we  limit  our  description  to  the  region  between  Busrah  and 
Bagdad  including  the  delta  at  the  mouth  of  the  rivers. 

Near  Bagdad  the  two  giant  rivers,  after  draining  Eastern 
Asia  Minor,  Armenia  and  Kurdistan,  approach  quite  near 
together;  from  thence  the  main  streams  are  connected  by 
several  channels  and  intermittent  watercourses,  the  chief  of 
which  is  the  Shatt-el  Hai.  At  Kurna  the  two  rivers  unite  to 
form  the  Shatt-el-Arab  which  traverses  a  flat,  fertile  plain 
dotted  with  villages  and  covered  with  artificially  irrigated 
meadow-lands  and  extensive  date  groves.  As  far  up  as  Bagdad 
the  river  is  navigable  throughout  the  year  for  steamers  of  con- 
siderable size.  It  is  entirely  owing  to  the  enterprise  of  English 
commerce  and  the  Bagdad-Busrah  steamship  line  that  the 
country,  so  gloomily  described  by  Niebuhr,  in  1792,  and  even 
by  Chesney  in  1840,  has  been  developed  into  new  life  and 
prosperity.  Even  Turkish  misrule  and  oppression  cannot  do 
away  utterly  with  natural  fertility  and  productiveness ;  and  if 
ever  a  good  government  should  hold  this  region  it  would  regain 
its  ancient  importance  and  double  its  present  population. 

Two  features  are  prominent  in  the  physical  geography  of  this 
region.  First  the  flat  almost  level  stretches  of  meadow  with- 
out any  rise  or  fall  except  the  artificial  ancient  mounds.'     The 

'  The  only  remarkable  exception  is  the  Jebel  Sinam — a  rough  hill  of 
basaltic  rock  that  crops  out  in  the  midst  of  the  alluvial  delta  near  Zobeir; 
a  peculiar  phenomenon,  but  proving  Doughty's  general  scheme  for  the 
Arabian  geology  correct  even  here. 


THE  RIFER-COUNTRY  AND   THE  DATE-PALM         121 

second  is  the  date-palm.  The  whole  length  of  the  country 
from  Fao  and  Mohammerah  to  the  country  of  the  Montefik 
Arabs  above  Kurna  is  one  large  date  plantation,  on  both  sides 
of  the  wide  river.  Everywhere  the  tall  shapely  trees  line  the 
horizon  and  near  the  lower  estuary  of  the  Shatt-el-Arab  they 
are  especially  luxuriant  and  plentiful.  Formerly  every  palm- 
tree  on  the  Nile,  was  registered  and  taxed ;  but  to  count  every 
such  tree  on  the  Shatt-el-Arab  would  be  an  unending  task. 

The  proper  coat-of-arms  for  all  lower  Mesopotamia  would  be 
a  date-palm.  It  is  the  "  banner  of  the  cHmate  "  and  the  wealth 
of  the  country.  There  may  be  monotony  in  these  long  groves 
and  rows  of  well-proportioned  columns  with  their  tops  hidden 
in  foliage,  but  there  certainly  is  nothing  wearisome.  A  date 
garden  is  a  scene  of  exceeding  beauty,  varying  greatly  accord- 
ing to  the  time  of  the  day  and  the  state  of  the  weather.  At 
sunrise  or  sunset  the  gorgeous  colors  fall  on  the  gracefully  pend- 
ant fronds  or  steal  gently  through  the  lighter  foliage  and  re- 
flect a  vivid  green  so  beautiful  that  once  seen,  it  can  never  be 
forgotten.  At  high-noon  the  dark  shadows  and  deep  colors  of 
the  date-forests  refresh  and  rest  the  eye  aching  from  the  brazen 
glare  of  sand  and  sky.  But  the  forest  is  at  its  best,  when  on 
a  dewy  night  the  full  moon  rises  and  makes  a  pearl  glisten  on 
every  spiked  leaf  and  the  shadows  show  black  as  night  in  con- 
trast with  the  sheen  of  the  upper  foliage. 

It  was  an  Arab  poet  who  first  sang  the  song  of  the  date-palm 
so  beautifully  interpreted  by  Bayard  Taylor  : 

"  Next  to  thee,  O  fair  Gazelle ! 
O  Bedowee  girl,  beloved  so  well, — 
Next  to  the  fearless  Nejidee 
Whose  fleetness  shall  bear  me  again  to  thee— 
Next  to  ye  both  I  love  the  palm 
With  his  leaves  of  beauty  and  fruit  of  balm. 
Next  to  ye  both,  I  love  the  tree 
Whose  fluttering  shadows  wrap  us  three 
In  love  and  silence  and  mystery. 


122  ARABM,    THE  CRADLE   OF  ISLAM 

Our  tribe  is  many,  our  poets  vie 

With  any  under  the  Arab  sky 

Yet  none  can  sing  of  the  palm  but  I. 

The  noble  minarets  that  begem 

Cairo's  citadel  diadem 

Are  not  so  light  as  his  slender  stem. 

He  lifts  his  leaves  in  the  sunbeam  glance 

As  the  Almehs  lift  their  arms  in  dance ; 

A  slumberous  motion,  a  passionate  sigh 

That  w^orks  in  the  cells  of  the  blood  like  wine. 

O  tree  of  love,  by  that  love  of  thine 

Teach  me  how  I  shall  soften  mine." 

Mark  Twain  compared  the  palm-tree  to  "a  liberty-pole  with 
a  haycock  "  on  top  of  it.  The  truth  lies  between  the  poet 
and  the  "  Innocent  "  traveller,  for  the  date-tree  is  both  a  poem 
and  a  commercial  product ;  to  the  Arab  mind  it  is  the  perfec- 
tion of  beauty  and  utility. 

The  date  palm-tree  is  found  in  Syria,  Asia  Minor,  nearly  all 
parts  of  Arabia  and  the  southern  islands  of  the  Mediterranean, 
but  it  attains  to  its  greatest  perfection  in  upper  Egypt  and 
Mesopotamia.'  Some  idea  of  the  immense  importance  of  this 
one  crop  in  the  wealth  of  Mesopotamia  may  be  gained  from 
the  statement  of  an  old  English  merchant  at  Busrah,  that  "the 
entire  annual  date-harvest  of  the  River-country  might  conserva- 
tively be  put  at  150,000  tons." 

The  date-tree  consists  of  a  single  stem  or  trunk  about  fifty  to 
eighty  feet  high,  without  a  branch,  and  crowned  at  the  summit 
by  a  cluster  of  leaves  or  "  palms  "  that  drop  somewhat  in  the 
shape  of  a  huge  umbrella.  Each  of  these  palms  has  long  lan- 
ceolate leaves  spreading  out  like  a  fan  from  the  centre  stem 
which  often  attains  a  length  of  ten  or  even  twelve  feet.  In  a 
wild  state  the  successive  rows  of  palms,  which  mark  the  annual 
growth  of  the  tree,  wither  and  contract  but  remain  upon  the 
trunk,  producing  with  every  breath  of  wind  the  creaking  sound 

'  The  dates  of  Hassa  and  Oman  may  equal  those  of  Busrah  but  the  gar- 
dens are  inferior  and  the  quantity  produced  is  not  so  large. 


THE  RiyERCOUNTRY  AND  THE  DATE-PALM        123 

so  often  heard  in  the  silence  of  the  desert-night.  But  where 
the  palms  are  cultivated  the  old  stems  are  cut  away  as  fast  as 
they  dry  and  are  put  to  many  different  uses.  The  trunk  of 
the  palm-tree  therefore  presents  the  appearance  of  scales  which 
enable  a  man,  whose  body  is  held  to  the  tree  by  a  rope  noose, 
to  climb  to  the  top  with  ease  and  gather  the  fruit.  At  a  dis- 
tance, these  annual  rings  of  the  date-palm  appear  as  a  series  of 
diagonal  lines  dividing  the  trunk.  Palm-trees  often  reach  the 
age  of  a  hundred  years.  The  date-palm  is  dioecious  ;  but  in 
Mesopotamia  the  pistilate-palms  far  exceed  in  number  the 
staminate.  Marriage  of  the  palms  takes  place  every  spring  and 
is  a  busy  time  for  the  husbandman  as  it  is  no  small  task  to 
climb  all  the  trees  and  sprinkle  the  pollen. 

Arabs  have  written  books  and  Europeans  have  composed 
fables  on  the  thousand  different  uses  of  the  palm-tree.  Every 
part  of  this  wonderful  tree  is  useful  to  the  Arabs  in  unexpected 
ways.  To  begin  at  the  top  : — The  pistils  of  the  date-blossom 
contain  a  fine  curly  fibre  which  is  beaten  out  and  used  in  all 
Eastern  baths  as  a  sponge  for  soaping  the  body.  At  the  ex- 
tremity of  the  trunk  is  a  terminal  bud  containing  a  whitish  sub- 
stance resembling  an  almond  in  consistency  and  taste,  but  a 
hundred  times  as  large.  This  is  a  great  table  delicacy.  There 
are  said  to  be  over  one  hundred  varieties  of  date-palm  all  dis- 
tinguished by  their  fruit  and  the  Arabs  say  that  "  a  good 
housewife  may  furnish  her  husband  every  day  for  a  month  with 
a  dish  of  dates  differently  prepared."  Dates  form  the  staple 
food  of  the  Arabs  in  a  large  part  of  Arabia  and  are  always 
served  in  some  form  at  every  meal.  Syrup  and  vinegar  is  made 
from  old  dates ;  and  by  those  who  disregard  the  Koran,  even 
a  kind  of  brandy.  The  date-pit  is  ground  up  and  fed  to  cows 
and  sheep  so  that  nothing  of  the  precious  fruit  may  be  lost. 
Whole  pits  are  used  as  beads  and  counters  for  the  Arab  chil- 
dren in  their  games  on  the  desert-sand.  The  branches  or 
palms  are  stripped  of  their  leaves  and  used  like  rattan,  to  make 
beds,  tables,  chairs,  cradles,  bird-cages,  reading-stands,  boats, 


124  ARABU,   THE  CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

crates,  etc.,  etc.  The  leaves  are  made  into  baskets,  fans  and 
string  and  the  bast  of  the  outer  trunk  forms  excellent  fibre  for 
rope  of  many  sizes  and  qualities.  The  wood  of  the  trunk, 
though  light  and  porous,  is  much  used  in  bridge-building  and 
architecture  and  is  quite  durable.  In  short,  when  a  date- 
palm  is  cut  down  there  is  not  a  particle  of  it  that  is  wasted. 
This  tree  is  the  "poor-house"  and  asylum  for  all  Arabia; 
without  it  millions  would  have  neither  food  nor  shelter. 
For  one  half  of  the  population  of  Mesopotamia  lives  in  date- 
mat  dwellings. 

Although  everywhere  the  date-culture  is  an  important  in- 
dustry, Busrah  is  the  centre  of  the  trade,  for  here  is  the  princi- 
pal depot  for  export.  The  three  best  varieties  of  dates  known 
at  Busrah  are  the  Hallawi,  Khadrawi  and  Sayer.  These  are 
the  only  kinds  that  will  stand  shipping  to  the  European  markets. 
They  are  packed  in  layers  in  wooden  boxes,  or  in  smaller  car- 
ton boxes.  The  average  export  to  London  and  New  York 
from  Busrah  for  the  past  five  years  has  been  about  20,000  tons, 
nearly  one  half  of  which  was  for  the  American  market.  Other 
important  varieties  are  ZeJidi,  Bcrein,  Dery  and  Shukri.  These 
are  packed  more  roughly  in  matting  or  baskets,  and  are  sent 
along  the  whole  Arabian  coast,  to  India,  the  Red  Sea  littoral 
and  Zanzibar.  There  are  over  thirty  other  varieties  cultivated 
near  Busrah  for  local  consumption.  Some  of  them  have  curi- 
ous names  such  as:  "Mother  of  Perfume,"  "Sealed-up," 
"Red  Sugar,"  "Daughter  of  Seven,"  "  Bride's-finger," 
"Little  Star,"  "Pure  Daughter";  others  have  names  which 
it  is  better  not  to  translate. 

Palgrave  and  others,  with  whose  verdict  I  agree,  pronounced 
the  Khalasi  date  of  El  Hassa  superior  to  all  other  kinds.  It 
has  recently  been  introduced  into  Mesopotamia.  Palgrave 
says,  "  the  literal  and  not  inappropriate  translation  of  the  name 
is  '  quintessence '  — a  species  peculiar  to  Hassa  and  easily  the 
first  of  its  kind."  The  fruit  itself  is  rather  smaller  than 
the  usual  Hallawi  date,  but   it  is  not  so  dry  and  far  more 


THE  RIVERCOUNTRY  AND  THE  DATE  PALM        125 

luscious.  It  is  of  a  rich  dark  amber  color,  almost  ruddy,  and 
translucent ;  the  kernel  is  small  and  easily  detached  ;  the  date 
tastes  sweet  as  sugar  and  is  as  far  superior  to  the  date  bought 
in  the  American  market  as  a  ripe  Pippin  is  to  dried  apple-rings. 

At  Busrah  the  date  season  opens  in  September  and  keeps 
every  one  busy  until  the  vast  harvest  is  gathered  and  shipped. 
The  dates  for  export  to  Europe  and  America  are  of  prime 
quality ;  a  box  of  half  a  hundred-weight  on  board  the  steamer 
is  worth  about  three  or  four  shillings  wholesale.  All  poor, 
wet,  and  small  dates  are  packed  separately  in  mats  or  bags, 
and  are  sent  to  India  as  second-quality.  The  poorest  lot  are 
sent  in  mass  to  the  distilleries  in  England.  Thus  nothing  is 
lost.  Date-packers,  who  put  the  fruit  in  layers,  receive  three 
or  four  kameris  for  packing  a  box.  The  best  packers  can  only 
pack  four  boxes  a  day,  so  that  their  wages  are  about  a  kran 
(about  ten  cents)  per  day.  They  live  cheaply  on  the  fruit, 
and  bring  all  their  family,  babes  and  greybeards  with  them  to 
lodge  for  the  season  in  the  date-gardens.  The  date  season  in 
Busrah  begins  in  the  early  or  middle  part  of  September  and 
lasts  for  six  or  eight  weeks.  The  price  of  the  date-crop  varies. 
It  is  usually  fixed  at  a  meeting  held  in  some  date-garden  where 
the  growers  and  buyers  play  the  bull  and  the  bear  until  an 
agreement  is  reached.  The  prices  in  1897  were,  in  the  lan- 
guage of  the  trade:  "340  Shamis  for  Hallawis,  280  Shamis  for 
Khadrawis,  and  180  Shamis  for  Sayer."  Seventeen  Shamis 
are  equal  to  about  one  pound  sterling,  and  the  prices  quoted 
are  for  a  kara,  about  fifty  hundred-weights. 

The  culture  of  the  date  has  steadily  increased  for  the  past 
fifteen  years.  In  1896  the  greater  part  of  the  country  was  in- 
undated by  heavy  floods  and  over  a  million  date-trees  are  said 
to  have  been  destroyed ;  new  gardens  are  being  planted  con- 
tinually. The  Arabs  of  Mesopotamia  display  great  skill  and 
unusual  care  in  manuring,  irrigating  and  improving  their  date- 
plantations,  for  they  realize  more  and  more  that  this  is  no 
mean  source  of  wealth.     One  recent  use  to  which  export  dates 


126  ARABI/I,   THE  CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

are  put  is  in  the  manufacture  of  vinegar ;  it  would  seem,  since 
the  beet-sugar  industry  has  proved  so  profitable,  that  there 
must  be  some  method  by  which  good  sugar  could  be  manufac- 
tured from  date-syrup. 

Mesopotamia  is  rich  not  only  in  date-groves  but  in  cereals, 
wool,  gums,  licorice  root  and  other  products.  The  export 
of  wool  alone  in  1897  was  valued  at  ^^288, 700.  And  the 
total  exports  the  same  year,  for  the  two  provinces  of  Bag- 
dad and  Busrah,  were  put  at  ;^52  2,96o.  Busrah  is  the  ship- 
ping place  for  all  the  region  round  about,  and  ocean  steamers 
of  considerable  size  are  always  in  Busrah  harbor;  during  1897 
four  hundred  and  twenty-one  sailing  vessels  and  ninety-five 
steamships  cleared  the  port,  with  a  total  tonnage  of  131,846; 
ninety-one  of  the  steamships  were  British. 

The  population  of  the  two  vilayets  is  given  by  Cuinet,  who 
follows  Turkish  authorities,  as  follows  : 


Moslems. 

Christians. 

Jews. 

Total. 

Bagdad  Vilayet, 

789,500 

7,000 

53,500 

850,000 

Busrah  Vilayet, 

939,650 

5.850 

4,500 

950,000 

In  Bagdad  vilayet  nearly  four-fifths  of  the  Moslem  popu- 
lation belongs  to  the  Sunnite  sect,  while  in  Busrah  vilayet 
three-fourths  of  them  are  Shiahs.  The  Sabeans  are  generally 
reckoned  among  the  Christians,  although  these  are  already 
sufficiently  divided  into  Latin,  Greek  Orthodox,  Greek,  Syrian, 
Chaldean  Catholic,  Armenian  Gregorian,  Armenian  Catholic 
and  Protestants — the  last  in  the  smallest  minority  possible  and 
the  others  chiefly  distinguished  by  mutual  distrust  and  united 
hatred  of  Protestantism. 

The  vilayet  of  Bagdad  is  divided  again  into  three  Sandjaks 
or  districts  of  Bagdad,  Hillah  and  Kerbela,  and  that  of  Busrah 
likewise  into  those  of  Busrah,  Amara  Muntefik  and  Nejd.^  Of 
these  six  districts  that  of  Bagdad  is  the  largest  in  area  and  im- 
portance and  is  the  centre  of  military  power  for  both  vilayets. 

1  The  last  named  is  outside  of  our  present  subject  and  is  a  misnomer 
given  by  Turkish  audacity  to  the  region  of  Hassa. 


THE  RII/ER-COUNTRY  AND   THE  DATE-PALM         127 

The  boundaries  of  Bagdad  Sandjak  go  as  far  as  Anah  on  the 
Euphrates  toward  the  north  and  include  Kut-el-Amara  on  the 
south  with  both  banks  of  the  Tigris.  Hillah  and  Kerbela  are 
along  the  Euphrates  with  irregular  boundaries  while  the  Mun- 
tefik  Sandjak  with  its  provincial  town  of  Nasariya  separates 
them  from  that  of  Busrah.  The  Sandjak  of  Amara  begins  a 
few  miles  north  of  the  junction  of  the  two  rivers,  and  the  whole 
frontier  toward  Persia  is  entirely  undefined  or  at  least  ^^  in  liti- 
gation,'^ as  the  Turkish  official  maps  have  it. 

The  two  Turkish  provinces  have  all  the  involved  machinery 
of  Turkish  civil  and  military  administration.  There  are  plenty 
of  offices  and  office-holders  and  constant  changes  in  both. 
Each  province  has  a  governor-general  or  IVali  and  (outside 
of  the  governor's  sandjak)  each  district  has  its  mutaserrif -pasha 
either  of  the  first  or  second  class — those  one  has  to  deal  with 
generally  prove  to  be  of  the  latter.  Then  there  are  Kaimakams 
for  smaller  districts  or  cities,  and  finally  mudirs  for  villages. 
At  the  seat  of  government,  called  the  Serai,  there  is  an  ad- 
ministrative council,  including  the  Ndib  or  kadi,  correspond- 
ing to  chief-justice ;  the  defterdar  or  secretary  of  finance  ;  the 
mufti  or  public  interpreter  of  Moslem  law ;  the  nakib,  etc.,  etc., 
etc.  There  are  several  courts  of  justice  of  different  rank ;  the 
custom-house  administration  is  on  the  e  pluribus  unum  plan 
and  ne  plus  ultra  system.  Besides  these  there  are  the  "  Regie 
des  tabacs  "  or  the  tobacco-monopoly,  the  post  and  telegraph 
administration,  the  sanitary  offices,  the  salt-inspectors,  and,  at 
Kerbela,  the  Tarif  of  corpses  levied  on  imported  pilgrims.  To 
describe  all  these  satisfactorily  would  require  a  volume. 


XIII 

THE   CITIES    AND   VILLAGES   OF   TURKISH-ARABIA 

TT^UWEIT/  on  the  gulf  a  little  south  of  the  river  delta,  will 
•*-^  in  all  probability — before  long,  rise  in  importance  and  be 
as  well  known  as  Suez  or  Port  Said.  It  has  the  finest  harbor  in 
all  Eastern  Arabia,  and  is  an  important  town  of  from  10,000 
to  12,000  inhabitants.  Here  will  probably  be  the  terminus 
of  the  proposed  railroads  to  bind  India  and  the  gulf  to  Europe 
by  the  shortest  route.  The  whole  country  round  about  being 
practically  desert,  the  place  is  entirely  dependent  on  its  trade 
for  support.  It  possesses  more  bagalows  (sailing-vessels)  than 
any  port  in  the  gulf;  is  remarkably  cleanly ;  has  some  very 
well-built  houses  and  an  extensive  dockyard  for  boat  building. 
The  town  and  tribe  are  nominally  under  Turkish  subjection, 
although  protection  is  the  better  word,  and  it  is  rumored  that 
Kuweit  will  soon  be  as  much  in  the  hands  of  the  English  as  is 
Bahrein. 

The  Bedouin  tribes  of  Northern  Hassa,  and  even  from  Nejd, 
bring  horses,  cattle  and  sheep  to  this  place  to  barter  for  dates, 
clothing  and  fire-arms.  There  is  nearly  always  a  large  encamp- 
ment of  Bedouins  near  the  town.  The  route  overland  from 
Kuweit  to  Busrah  is  across  the  desert  until  we  come  to  an  old 
artificial  canal;  leaving  Jebel  Sinam  to  the  left  the  second 
march  brings  us  to  Zobeir,  a  small  village  on  the  site  of  ancient 
Busrah,  and  only  a  few  hours  to  the  present  site.     At  Zobeir  is 

■  Kuweit  is  the  Arabic  diminutive  of  Kut  a  walled-village ;  the  place  is 
called  Grane  on  some  maps — evidently  a  corruption  of  Ku7-ein  or  "  little 
horn,"  a  name  given  to  an  island  in  the  harbor. 

128 


THE  CITIES  AND  TILLAGES  OF  TURKISH-ARABIA    129 

the  tomb  of  the  Moslem  leader  for  whom  the  town  is  named. 
The  village  contains  about  400  houses ;  and  the  population  is 
rich  and  fanatical.  In  the  vicinity  are  gardens  where  a  kind 
of  melon  is  raised,  which  is  celebrated  in  all  the  region  round 
about  for  sweetness  and  delicacy  of  flavor.  The  journey  from 
Kuweit  to  Busrah  is  generally  made,  even  by  natives,  in  buga- 
lows ;  while  the  Persian  Gulf  steamers,  not  calling  at  Kuweit, 
proceed  direct  from  Bushire  to  Fao,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Shatt- 
el-Arab.  A  great  hindrance  to  commerce  is  the  bar  formed  by 
the  alluvial  deposit  of  the  immense  river  as  it  reaches  the  gulf. 
At  low  tide  there  is  only  ten  feet  of  water  in  the  deepest  part 
of  the  channel,  and  even  at  flood  tide  large  steamers  must  plow 
their  way  through  the  mud  to  reach  Busrah. 

Fao  is  of  no  importance  except  as  the  terminus  of  the  cable 
from  Bushire.  A  British  telegraph  station  was  established  here 
in  1864.  The  Turkish  telegraph  system  from  up  the  rivers 
terminates  at  Fao,  and  here  too  they  have  a  representative  to 
govern  the  place  and  enforce  stringent  quarantine.  The 
Shatt-el-Arab  winds  motononously  between  the  vast  date- 
orchards  or  desert  banks  for  about  forty  miles,  until  we  reach 
the  Karun  river  and  the  Persian  town  of  Mohammerah. 
Busrah  is  sixty-seven  miles  from  the  bar  and  between  it  and 
Fao  there  are  many  important  villages  on  each  bank  of  the 
river.  Aboo  Hassib  is  perhaps  the  most  important  and  is  a 
great  centre  for  date-culture  and  packing. 

Busrah  consists  of  the  native  city — containing  the  principal 
bazaars,  the  government  house,  and  the  bulk  of  the  population — 
and  the  new  town  on  the  river.  The  native  town  is  about  two 
miles  from  the  river  on  a  narrow  creek,  called  Ashar  ;  a  good 
road  runs  along  the  bank,  and  this  road  really  unites  the  two 
parts  of  the  city  into  one  as  it  is  lined  with  dwelling-houses  for 
a  large  part  of  the  way.  Busrah  has  seen  better  days,  but  also 
worse.  In  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century  it  numbered 
upward  of  150,000  inhabitants.  In  1825,  it  had  diminished 
to  60,000;  the  plague  of  1831  reduced  it  further  by  nearly 


130  ARABIA,   THE  CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

one-half,  and  after  the  plague  of  1838,  scarcely  12,000  in- 
habitants remained.  In  1854,  it  is  said  to  have  had  only 
5,000  inhabitants.  At  present  the  place  is  growing  yearly  in 
population  and  importance  in  spite  of  misgovernment  and 
ruinous  taxation.  It  has  every  natural  advantage  over  Bag- 
dad, except  climate,  and  will  yet  outstrip  the  city  of  the  old 
caliphs,  if  Turkey's  rule  mends  or  ends.  The  present  population 
of  the  city  proper  is  given  by  Ottoman  authorities  at  18,000. 
Many  ruins  all  over  the  plains  and  in  the  surrounding  gardens  tell 
of  its  former  extent  and  splendor.  At  present  the  native  town 
looks  sadly  dilapidated,  and  tells  the  story  of  neglect  and  de- 
cay. The  unexampled  filthiness  of  the  streets  and  the  un- 
drained  marshes  in  the  environs  make  the  place  proverbially 
unhealthy.  This  unhygienic  condition  is  not  improved  by  the 
Ashar  Creek  being  at  the  same  time  the  common  sewer  and  the 
common  water  supply  for  over  one-half  of  the  population.  The 
wealthy  classes  send  out  boats  to  bring  water  from  the  river, 
but  all  the  poorer  people  use  the  creek.  Such  are  the  results  of 
an  imbecile  government  which  could  easily  drain  the  marshes 
and  supply  every  one  with  great  abundance  of  pure  water. 

Ancient  Busrah,  near  the  present  site  of  Zobeir,  was  founded 
in  636  A.  D.,  by  the  second  Caliph  Omar  as  a  key  to  the 
Euphrates  and  Tigris.  It  reached  great  prosperity,  and  was 
the  home  of  poetry  and  grammatical  learning,  as  Bagdad  was 
the  centre  of  science  and  philosophy.  After  the  twelfth  cen- 
tury the  city  began  to  decay,  and  at  the  conquest  of  Bagdad 
by  Murad  IV.,  in  1638,  this  entire  stretch  of  country  fell  into 
the  hands  of  the  Turks.  Then  the  present  city  took  the  name 
of  Busrah.  Later  it  was  in  the  hands  of  the  Arabs  and  Per- 
sians, and  from  1832  to  1840,  Mohammed  Ali  was  in  possession. 
Under  the  rule  of  Midhat  Pasha,  governor-general  of  Bagdad, 
the  city  of  Busrah  arose  in  importance  partly  because  of  the 
Turkish  Steam  Navigation  Company  which  he  promoted.  But 
it  was  a  dream-life.  English  commerce  and  enterprise  aroused 
the  place  thoroughly,  and  the  whistle  of  steamships  has  kept  it 


THE  CITIES  AND  yiLLAGES  OF  TURKISH-ARABIA    131 

awake  ever  since  the  Suez  canal  opened  trade  with  Europe  by 
way  of  the  gulf.^ 

In  making  the  journey  from  Busrah  to  Bagdad  the  traveller 
has  choice  of  two  lines  of  river-steamers  :  the  Ottoman  service 
has  six  steamers  and  the  English  company  three,  but  the  latter 
are  only  allowed  to  use  two  by  the  Turkish  government.  For 
romance,  discomfort  and  tediousness,  choose  the  former ;  for 
all  other  reasons  select  the  latter.  I  have  tried  both.  The 
English  steamers  carry  the  mails  to  Bagdad  and  make  weekly 
trips ;  four  or  five  days  being  required  for  the  journey  up 
stream,  and  three  days  down,  although  when  the  water  is  low 
the  journey  may  be  long  delayed.  In  bad  or  shallow  places 
the  steamers  often  discharge  a  part  of  their  cargo,  heave  over 
the  shallow  part  and  load  up  again.  Of  course  trade  suffers 
and  vast  quantities  of  merchandise  often  lie  for  weeks  at  Bus- 
rah awaiting  shipment.  No  steps  are  ever  taken  by  the  Otto- 
man government  to  counteract  the  great  waste  of  water  which 
flows  into  the  marshes.  In  course  of  time,  unless  prevented, 
this  waste  will  lead  to  the  closing  up  of  the  main  channel  of  the 
Tigris  even  as  the  Euphrates  below  Suk-es-Shiukh  has  become 
a  marsh  for  lack  of  use. 

The  good  Steamship  Mejidieh  with  its  kindly  Captain  Cowley, 
or  the  sister  ship  Khali/ah  lies  at  anchor  just  off  the  English 
Consulate,  the  blue-peter  flies  overhead  and  the  decks  are  over- 
crowded with  all  sorts  and  conditions  of  men — Persians,  Turks, 
Indians,  Arabs,  Armenians,  Greeks ; — baggage,  bales,  boxes, 
water-bottles — chickens,  geese,  sheep,  horses,  not  to  speak  of 
the  insect-population  on  which  it  is  impossible  to  collect  freight- 
charges.  The  steamers  are  somewhat  after  the  type  of  the 
American  river-steamers  on  the  Mississippi ;  but  no  Mark 
Twain  has  yet  arisen  to  immortalize  them,  although  they  afford 
an  even  more  fertile  theme.     With  a  double  deck  and  broad 

'  For  the  interesting  history  of  the  cities  that  occupied  the  site  of  Bus- 
rah before  the  days  of  Islam,  and  as  far  back  as  Nebuchadnezzar,  see 
Ainsworth's  "  Personal  narrative  of  the  Euphrates  expedition." 


132  ARABIA,    THE   CRADLE   OF  ISLAM 

of  beam  they  carry  hundreds  of  passengers  and  an  astonish- 
ing amount  of  cargo  for  their  size.  The  accommodation  dur- 
ing cool  weather  is  excellent,  and  during  the  hot  days  no  one 
travels  for  the  sake  of  luxury. 

The  first  place  at  which  the  steamer  calls  is  Kurna  at  the 
junction  of  the  rivers,  and  from  whence  the  course  is  up  the 
Tigris  to  Bagdad.  The  Tomb  of  Ezra,  about  nine  hours  from 
Busrah,  is  a  great  place  for  pilgrimages  by  the  Jews.  It  is  a 
pretty  spot  on  the  river  bank  and  picturesque  with  its  crowd  of 
embarking  and  disembarking  Jews  and  Jewesses.  The  tomb 
is  a  domed  cloister  enclosing  a  square  mausoleum,  and  paved 
with  blue  tiles.  Over  the  doorway  are  two  tablets  of  black 
marble  with  Hebrew  inscriptions  attesting  to  the  authenticity 
of  the  tomb.  It  is  not  improbable  that  Ezra  is  buried  here, 
for  the  Talmud  states  that  he  died  at  Zamzunia,  a  town  on  the 
Tigris.  He  is  said  to  have  died  here  on  his  way  from  Jerusalem 
to  Susa  to  plead  the  cause  of  the  captive  Jews.  Josephus  says 
that  he  was  buried  at  Jerusalem,  but  no  Jew  of  Bagdad  doubts 
that  Ezra's  remains  rest  on  the  Tigris. 

Ten  hours  beyond,  we  pass  also  on  the  west  bank,  Abu 
Sadra,  a  tomb  of  an  Arab  saint  marked  only  by  a  reed-hut  and 
a  grove  of  poplars.  Next  is  Amara,  a  large  and  growing 
village  with  a  coaling-depot  and  an  enterprising  population. 
This  place  was  founded  in  1861,  and  promises  to  become  a 
centre  of  trade.  After  passing  Ali  Shergi,  Ali  Gherbi,  and 
Sheikh  Saad,  small  villages,  without  stopping,  the  steamer  calls 
at  Kut-el- Amara,  a  larger  place  even  than  Amara,  on  the  east 
bank,  with  over  4,000  inhabitants. 

All  the  way  from  Busrah  to  Bagdad,  but  especially  along  this 
part  of  the  river,  we  pass  Bedouin  tribes,  encamped  in  the 
black  tents  of  Kedar,  engaged  in  the  most  primitive  agricul- 
ture or  irrigation  of  their  land,  or  rushing  along  the  banks  to 
hail  the  passing  steamer.  A  hungry,  impudent,  noisy,  cheer- 
ful lot  they  are ;  filling  the  merciful  with  pity  and  moving  the 
thoughtless  to  laughter,  as  they  scramble  up  and  down  the 


THE    REPUTED   TOMB   OF   EZRA    ON   THE   TIGRIS   RIVER 


RUINS   OF   THE   ARCH    OF   CTESIPHON   NEAR    BAGDAD 


THE   CITIES  JND  VILLAGES  OF  TURKISH-ARABIA    133 

banks  into  the  water  to  catch  a  piece  of  bread  or  a  few  dates 
thrown  to  them. 

Meanwhile  we  steam  along  passing  Bughela,  Azizieh,  Bag- 
dadieh  and  reach  Bustani  Kesra,  or  the  arch  of  Ctesiphon. 
The  little  village  of  Soleiman-Pak  is  named  for  the  pious  man 
who  was  the  private  barber  of  Mohammed  the  prophet.  After 
various  wanderings,  poor  pious  Pak  was  buried  here,  only  a 
short  distance  from  the  great  arch.  A  village  sprang  up  near 
the  tomb,  pilgrims  come  from  everywhere  and  miracles  are 
claimed  to  be  wrought  by  him  who  when  alive  only  handled 
the  razor.  The  whole  region  of  Mesopotamia  is  more  rich  in 
saints,  tombs  and  pilgrim-shrines  than  any  other  part  of  Arabia. 

The  arch  of  Ctesiphon  is  not  a  shrine  but  it  is  well  worth  a 
visit.  It  is  the  only  prominent  object  that  remains  of  the  vast 
ruins  of  Ctesiphon  on  the  east  bank  of  the  Tigris,  and  Seleucia 
on  the  west.  The  arch  is  now  almost  in  ruins  but  must  once 
have  been  the  facade  of  a  magnificent  building.  Its  length  is 
275  feet,  and  its  height  is  given  variously  as  eighty-six  or  one 
hundred  feet;  the  walls  are  over  twelve  feet  thick  and  the 
span  of  the  magnificent  arch  is  nearly  eighty  feet.  What 
Ctesiphon  was  in  the  days  of  the  Sassanian  kings  we  read  in 
Gibbon.  Now  its  glory  has  departed  and  the  tomb  of  the 
Barber  has  more  visitors  than  the  ancient  throne  of  the  Chos- 
roes.  Eight  hours  after  leaving  Ctesiphon 's  ruins,  our  steamer 
is  in  full  sight  of  the  city  of  Haroun  Rashid. 

Bagdad  is  a  familiar  name  even  to  the  boy  who  reads  the 
Arabian  tales  rather  than  his  geography.  It  is  one  of  the  chief 
cities  of  the  Turkish  empire  and  has  a  history  much  older  than 
the  empire  itself.  Founded  by  the  Caliph  Mansur  about  the 
year  765  a.  d.,  it  was  the  capital  of  the  Mohammedan  world 
for  five  hundred  years,  until  it  was  destroyed  by  Halakn, 
grandson  of  Jengiz  Khan.  Situated  in  the  midst  of  what  was 
once  the  richest  and  most  productive  region  of  the  old  world 
it  is  now  no  longer  queen  of  the  land  but  rather  reminds  us  of 
decay  and  dissolution.     Its  present  beauties  are  only  the  ruins 


134  ARABIA,   THE   CRADLE   OF  ISLAM 

of  former  glory.  The  untidy  soldiers  slouching  about  the 
streets,  the  evil-smelling  bazaars  and  ruined  mosques,  the  rot- 
ten bridge  of  boats  that  spans  the  river,  the  faces  of  the  poor 
and  the  miserable  who  go  begging  through  the  streets,  indi- 
cate the  curse  of  Turkish  inanition  and  oppression. 

On  the  west  bank  of  the  river  is  the  old  town  enclosed  by 
extensive  orange  and  date-groves.  On  the  east  bank  is  New- 
Bagdad,  which  also  looks  old  enough.  Here  are  the  govern- 
ment offices,  consulates,  and  the  chief  commercial  buildings  as 
well  as  the  custom-offices.  Bagdad  is  still  an  important  city 
on  many  accounts.  No  other  city  of  the  Turkish  empire  is 
influenced  so  much  by  the  desert  and  Arabia  as  is  Bagdad ; 
and  no  other  stands  in  such  direct  contact  with  the  towns  in 
the  interior  of  the  peninsula.  The  Arabic  spoken  is  compara- 
tively pure,  and  Bedouin  manners  still  prevail  in  many  ways  in 
the  social  life  of  the  people.  The  city  has  a  very  motley 
population,  because  of  commerce  on  the  one  hand  and  the 
number  of  pilgrim-shrines  on  the  other.  The  tombs  of  Abd-ul- 
Kadir,  and  Abu  Hanifah  and  the  gilded  domes  and  minarets 
which  mark  the  resting-places  of  two  of  the  Shiah  Imams — all 
draw  their  annual  concourse  of  visitors  from  many  lands  and 
peoples.  All  the  languages  of  the  Levant  are  spoken  on  its 
streets  although  Arabic  prevails  over  all.  Dr.  H.  M.  Sutton 
remarks,  "  I  have  been  at  the  bedside  of  a  patient  where  in  a 
company  of  half-a-dozen  people  we  had  occasion  to  use  five 
languages,  and  on  another  occasion  we  were  in  a  company  of 
about  forty  people  in  a  room  where  no  less  than  fourteen  lan- 
guages were  represented.  The  land  of  Shinar  is  thus  still  the 
place  of  the  confusion  of  tongues."  Bagdad  like  Busrah  has 
suffered  greatly  by  ravages  of  the  plague  at  various  times,  but 
especially  in  1830  when  the  plague  was  followed  by  a  fearful 
inundation.  In  one  night,  when  the  river  burst  its  banks 
7,000  houses  fell  and  15,000  people  perished. 

The  population  of  Bagdad  is  at  present  variously  estimated 
at  from  120,000  to  180,000.      Nearly  one-third  are  Jews  while 


THE  CITIES  AND  VILLAGES  OF  TURKISH-ARABIA     135 

the  Oriental  Christians  number  about  5,000,  The  trade  of 
Bagdad  is  large  not  only  with  the  region  southwards  and  to- 
ward Busrah  but  with  Nejd  and  Northern  Mesopotamia.  The 
import  trade  from  India  and  Europe  to  Bagdad  is  over  ;£i,- 
000,000  every  year,  and  the  export  trade  to  Europe  alone  is 
placed  at  ^522,960  for  1897.  The  river  north  of  Bagdad  is 
not  navigable  for  steamers  but  an  immense  number  of  kelleks 
daily  arrive  from  the  north  loaded  with  lumber  from  Kurdis- 
tan and  with  other  products.  These  kelleks  are  a  craft  made  of 
inflated  goatskins  boarded  over  with  reeds  and  matting.  The 
boatmen  return  with  the  empty  skins  overland  with  the  cara- 
van companies.  Still  more  characteristic  of  Bagdad  is  the 
small  river-boat  called  a  kuffe  or  coracle.  It  consists  of  a  per- 
fectly circular  hull,  six  to  eight  feet  in  diameter,  with  sides 
curving  inward  like  a  huge  basket,  and  covered  with  pitch. 
This  type  of  boat  is  as  old  as  Nineveh  and  they  are  pictured 
quite  accurately  on  the  old  monuments. 

Bagdad  has  more  than  sixty-eight  mosques,  six  churches  and 
twenty-two  synagogues.  Of  the  mosques  some,  like  that  of 
Daood  Pasha,  are  in  fine  condition  ;  others  are  almost  in  ruins, 
and  remind  one  of  the  remark  of  Lady  Ann  Blunt :  "A  city 
long  past  its  prime,  its  hose  a  world  too  wide  for  its  shrunk 
shanks."  The  feature  of  Bagdad  is  of  course  the  river  Tigris, 
with  its  swift-flowing  tide  ever  washing  the  mud  banks  and 
watering  the  gardens  for  miles  around.  The  houses  come 
down  close  to  the  water's  edge  and  some  of  them  have  pretty 
gardens  almost  overhanging  the  stream  and  terraces  and  ve- 
randas— oriental  and  picturesque.  The  British  Residency  is 
perhaps  most  beautiful  in  its  location  and  its  frontage  on  the 
river;  but  the  other  consulates  vie  with  it  in  displaying  to  the 
traveller  the  strength  and  hospitality  of  European  States.  The 
European  community  is  larger  than  at  Busrah. 


xrv 

A  JOURNEY  DOWN  THE  EUPHRATES 

'■pHROUGH  the  kind  assistance  of  Colonel  Mockler,  at 
-■•  that  time  the  Bagdad  Consul  General  and  Resident,  in 
the  autumn  of  1892,  I  was  able  to  make  the  journey  from  Bag- 
dad across  to  Hillah  and  down  the  Euphrates — a  route  not 
often  taken  by  the  traveller.  After  making  necessary  prepa- 
rations and  finding  a  suitable  servant  we  hired  two  mules  and 
left  the  city  of  the  old  Caliphs  with  a  caravan  for  Kerbela.  It 
was  in  July  and  we  made  our  first  halt  four  hours  from  Bag- 
dad, sleeping  on  a  blanket  under  the  stars.  An  hour  after 
midnight  the  pack-saddles  were  lifted  in  place  and  we  were  off 
again.  It  was  a  mixed  company  ;  Arabs,  Persians,  and  Turks ; 
merchants  for  Hillah  and  pilgrims  to  the  sacred  shrines ; 
women  in  those  curtained,  cage-like  structures  called  taht-i- 
va?is, — two  portable  zenanas  hanging  from  each  beast;  der- 
vishes on  foot  with  green  turbans,  heavy  canes  and  awful  vis- 
ages :  and  to  complete  the  picture  a  number  of  rude  coffins 
strapped  cross-wise  on  pack-mules  and  holding  the  remains  of 
some  "  true  believers,"  long  since  ready  for  the  holy  ground  at 
Nejf  (Nedjef). 

The  caravan  travelled  along  the  desert  road  mostly  at  night 
to  escape  the  fearful  heat  of  midday  when  we  sought  shelter  in 
public  khan.  Nothing  could  be  more  uninteresting  than  the 
country  between  Bagdad  and  Babylon  at  this  season  of  the 
year.  The  maps  mark  six  khans  on  the  route,  but  three  of 
these  are  in  ruins  and  the  others  are  merely  stages  of  a  caravan 
rather  than  villages  or  centres  of  cultivation.  The  soil  appears 
excellent,  but  there  are  no  irrigation  canals,  and  everything 
has  a  deserted  appearance.     A  few  low  shrubs  between  the 

136 


A  JOURNEY  DOIVN  THE  EUPHRATES  137 

mounds  and  moles  of  an  ancient  civilization;  mud-houses 
near  the  khans  and  some  Arab  encampments  ;  camel  skeletons 
shining  white  by  the  wayside,  under  a  burning  sun  ;  and  a 
troop  or  two  of  gazelle  making  for  the  river-banks — that  is  all 
you  see  until  you  reach  the  palm-banked  Euphrates  at  Hillah. 

The  khans  consist  of  a  large  enclosure  with  heavy  walls  of 
sun-dried  or  Babylonian  brick.  In  the  interior  are  numerous 
alcoves  or  niches,  ten  by  six  feet  and  four  feet  above  ground  ; 
you  seek  out  an  empty  niche  and  find  a  resting-place  until  tlie 
caravan  starts  at  midnight.  In  the  centre  of  the  enclosure  is  a 
well  and  a  large  platform  for  prayer — utilized  for  sleeping  and 
cooking  by  late  arrivals  who  find  no  niche  reserved  as  in  our 
case.  The  rest  of  the  court  is  for  animals  and  baggage.  Usual 
Arab  supplies  were  obtainable  at  these  resting-places,  but  every 
comfort  is  scarce  and  the  innkeepers  are  too  busy  to  be  hos- 
pitable. 

Khan  el  Haswa  where  we  arrived  the  second  day  is  the 
centre  of  a  small  village  of  perhaps  300  people.  At  three  in 
the  morning  we  left  Haswa  but  it  was  nearly  noon  when  we 
reached  the  river,  because  of  a  delay  on  the  road.  The  bazaar 
and  business  of  Hillah  were  formerly  on  the  Babylonian  side 
of  the  stream,  but  are  now  principally  on  the  further  side  of 
the  rickety  bridge  of  boats  four  miles  below  the  ruins  of  Baby- 
lon. After  paying  toll  we  crossed  over  and  found  a  room  in 
the  Khan  Pasha — a  close,  dirty  place,  but  in  the  midst  of  the 
town  and  near  the  river.  Hillah  is  the  largest  town  on  the 
Euphrates  north  of  Busrah.  Splendid  groves  of  date-trees  sur- 
round it  and  stretch  along  the  river  as  far  as  the  eye  can  reach. 
The  principal  merchandise  of  the  town  is  wheat,  barley  and 
dates.  Of  the  Moslem  population  two-thirds  are  Shiah,  and 
the  remaining  Sunni  are  mostly  Turks.  There  are  one  or  two 
native  Christians  and  many  Jews,  but  it  is  difficult  to  estimate 
correctly  the  population  of  Hillah  or  of  any  of  the  towns  on 
the  Euphrates.  At  Hillah  the  river  is  less  than  200  yards 
wide   and   has   a   much   more  gentle   flow  than   the   Tigris  at 


138  ARABI/1,   THE  CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

Bagdad.  A  short  distance  northwest  of  the  town  is  Kerbela. 
It  is  only  a  village  but  the  spot  is  visited  by  thousands  of  faith- 
ful Moslems  every  year  who  venerate  the  twelve  Imams  of  the 
Shiah  sect.  Here  is  the  tomb  of  Hosein  the  grandson  of  the 
prophet  and  the  son  of  Ali  whom  they  believe  the  true  suc- 
cessor in  the  Caliphate.  By  living  or  dying  here  the  Shiah  dev- 
otee has  nought  to  fear  for  the  next  world.  So  strong  is  this 
belief  that  many  leave  directions  in  their  wills  to  be  buried  in 
this  hallowed  spot.  Thousands  of  corpses  are  imported  some 
even  from  India — after  proper  drying  and  salting — and  are 
laid  to  rest  in  the  sacred  ground.  Nejf,  south  of  Hillah,  is  the 
place  of  All's  martyrdom  and  is  no  less  sacred  for  the  living 
and  the  dead. 

At  Kerbela  the  manufacture  of  torbas  is  about  the  only 
industry.  A  torbat  is  a  small  piece  of  baked  clay  about  two 
inches  in  length,  generally  round  or  oblong,  with  the  names  of 
Ali  and  Fatima  rudely  engraved  on  it.  Made  out  of  holy- 
ground,  these  are  carried  home  by  all  pilgrims  and  are  used  by 
nearly  every  Shiah  as  a  resting-place  for  the  forehead  in  their 
prayer  prostrations.  According  to  all  reports  Kerbela  is  similar 
to  Mecca  in  its  loose  morals  and  the  character  of  its  permanent 
population. 

On  July  31st  we  left  Hillah  and  sailed  down  the  river  in  a 
native  boat  similar  to  the  "  bellum  "  of  Busrah,  but  without 
awning.  The  Euphrates  is  more  muddy  than  the  Tigris,  and 
its  course,  though  less  sinuous,  is  broken  here  and  there  by 
shallow  rapids.^  We  sailed  all  night  and  did  not  stop  until  we 
arrived  at  Diwaniyeh  the  following  afternoon.  Many  of  the 
villages  on  the  way  appeared  to  have  a  considerable  population ; 
date-groves  were  plentiful,  and  we  passed  two  or  three  Mathhab 
or  tombs  of  Arab  Sheikhs,  including  that  reputed  to  be  Job's, 
"  the  greatest  of  all  the  sons  of  the  East." 

1  The  following  are  the  villages  and  encampments  between  Hillah  and 
Diwaniyeh:  El  Ataj,  Doulab,  Dobleh,  Kwaha,  Saadeh,  Tenhara,  Bir 
Amaneh,  Allaj,  Anameh,  Hosein,  Khegaan  Sageer  and  Khegaan  Kebir. 


A  JOVRNEY  DO^VN  THE  EUPHRATES  139 

At  Diwaniyeh  I  was  directed  to  the  Serai,  or  government- 
house,  where  the  Muttaserif  Pasha  of  Hillah  was  forcing  taxes 
from  the  unwiUing  Arabs.  I  was  kindly  received,  and,  prob- 
ably because  of  my  passport,  was  entertained  at  the  Pasha's 
table,  Diwaniyeh  has  only  a  small  population,  and  its 
importance  is  due  to  its  wealth  of  pahiis  and  the  wheat  trade, 
which  gives  another  opportunity  for  the  government  to  establish 
a  toll-bridge  and  custom-house. 

The  Arabs  of  this  region  are  notorious  for  their  piracy  on 
native  craft,  and  in  1836  they  even  attacked  the  English  sur- 
veying expedition.  So  I  left  the  place  with  a  guard  of  two 
soldiers — Saadeh  and  Salim,  who  were  as  happy  as  their  names. 
Patching  their  uniforms,  asleep  in  the  bottom  of  the  boat,  eat- 
ing of  our  bread  and  dates,  or  polishing  their  rifles  marked 
"  (7.  S.  Springfield,  Snider's  Pat.  1863,"  we  reached  Samawa 
safely.  During  the  day  we  passed  the  hamlets  Um  Nejis, 
Abu  Juwareeb,  Rumeitha,  and  Sheweit.  But  the  general 
scene  was  that  of  narrow  morass  channels  branching  out  from 
the  river,  where  forests  of  reeds  half  hid  mat-huts  and  naked 
Arabs.  These  river  tribes  are  not  true  nomads,'  but  live  in 
one  place,  on  fish  and  the  products  of  the  river  buffalo.  It  is 
a  strange  sight  to  see  a  herd  of  large  black  cattle  swimming 
across  stream,  pursued  by  shouting,  swimming  and  swearing 
herdsmen.  And  this  was  once  the  home  of  Abraham,  the 
friend  of  God. 

Near  Rumeitha  there  was  a  large  menzil  of  the  Lamlum 
tribe.  Here  we  fastened  the  boat  for  the  night,  as  our  com- 
pany was  afraid  to  cross  certain  rapids  by  starlight.  Some  of 
the  Arabs  came  to  our  boat,  armed  with  flint-locks  and  the 
Mikwar — a  heavy  stick  knobbed  with  sandstone  or  hard  bitu- 
men— in  Arab  hands  a  formidable  weapon.     Most  of  the  people 

'  The  distinction  between  true  Arabs  of  the  nomad  tribes  and  the 
Me' dan  was  made  as  early  as  1792  by  Niebuhr  in  his  travels,  and  the 
river  boatmen  still  answer  your  question  with  contemptuous  accent  : 
"  Those  are  not  Arabs,  they  are  Me'dan." 


140  AR/iBU,   THE  CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

were  asleep,  and  we  could  get  no  supplies  of  any  kind  except 
two  roast  fowl  from  the  Turkish  garrison  in  a  mud  brick  fort 
opposite.  Even  one  of  these  fell  to  the  share  of  a  hungry 
jackal  during  the  night.  We  left  early  in  the  morning,  and 
after  some  difficulty  in  crossing  the  shallow  rapids,  reached 
Samawa  in  four  hours.  Dismissing  the  zaptiehs,  we  found  a 
room  in  the  Khan  of  Haj  Nasir  on  the  second  floor  and  over- 
looking the  bazaar. 

It  was  the  day  before  Ashera,  the  great  day  of  Moharram, 
and  the  whole  town  was  in  funereal  excitement.  All  shops 
were  closed.  Shiah  were  preparing  for  the  great  mourning, 
and  Sunni  sought  a  safe  place  away  from  the  street.  As  soon 
as  I  came  the  local  governor  sent  word  that  I  must  not  leave 
the  khan  under  any  circumstances,  nor  venture  in  the  street, 
as  he  would  not  be  responsible  for  Shiah  violence.  I  remained 
indoors,  therefore,  until  the  following  day,  and  saw  from  the 
window  the  confusion  of  the  night  of  Ashera,  the  tramp  of  a 
mob,  the  beating  of  breasts,  the  wailing  of  women,  the  bloody 
banners,  and  mock-martyr  scenes,  the  rhythmic  howling  and 
cries  of  "  Ya  Ali !  ya  Hassan!  ya  Hussein!"  until  throats 
were  hoarse  and  hands  hung  heavy  for  a  moment,  only  to  go  at 
it  again.  A  pandemonium,  as  of  Baal's  prophets  on  Carmel, 
before  the  deaf  and  dumb  God  of  Islam, — monotheistic  only  in 
its  book.  "There  is  no  god  but  God,"  and  yet  to  the  Shiah 
devotees  of  Moharram,  "He  is  not  in  all  their  thoughts." 
The  martyr  caliphs  of  Nejf  are  their  salvation  and  their  hope, 
the  Houris'  lap. 

Between  Samawa  and  Nasariya,  the  next  important  town^ 
we  passed  the  villages :  Zahara,  El  Kidr,  Derj  Kalat,  (where 
there  is  a  Turkish  Mudir  and  a  telegraph  station  on  the  Hillah- 
Busrah  wire)  Luptika  El  Ain  Abu  Tabr  and  El  Assaniyeh. 
The  river  begins  to  broaden  below  Samawa,  and  its  banks  are 
beautiful  with  palms  and  willows.  ^Ve  were  again  delayed  at 
a  toll-bridge ;  there  must  be  taxes  everywhere  in  Turkey,  on 
ships  and  on  fishermen,  on  boats  and  on  bridges,  on  tobacco 


A    }n'l!I,l<'    KHAX    I\    XrRKISH-ARABIA 


ARAB   PILGRIMS   OX    BOARD    A    RIVER   STEAMER 


A  JOURNEY  DOIVN  THE  EUPHRATES  141 

and  on  salt ;  but  this  taxing  of  the  same  cargo  at  every  river 
port  is  peculiar. 

Nasariya  is  a  comparatively  modern  town  and  better  built 
than  any  on  the  Euphrates  river.  Its  bazaar  is  large  and  wide, 
and  the  government-houses  are  imposing  for  Arabdom.  A 
small  gunboat  lies  near  the  landing,  and  this  floating  tub,  with 
its  soldier  guard  and  bugle-call,  represents  the  only  civilization 
that  has  yet  come  to  the  Euphrates  valley,  and  is  a  thing  of 
wonder  to  the  Arabs.  Opposite  Nasariya  are  two  large 
walled  enclosures,  wheat  granaries  protected  from  Arab  rob- 
bers. Three  hours  west  are  the  ruins  of  Mugheir — Ur  of  the 
Chaldees. 

Our  meheleh  sailed  down  the  river  before  daylight  and  five 
hours  later  came  to  Suk  el  Shiukh,  "  the  bazaar  of  old  men." 
Abd  el  Fattah,  in  whose  Persian  kahwah  we  found  a  place,  is 
a  cosmopolitan.  He  had  seen  "  Franjees  "  before,  had  been  to 
Bombay,  Aden  and  Jiddah,  knew  something  of  books,  a  little 
less  of  the  gospel,  and  spoke  two  English  words,  of  which  he 
was  very  proud,  "  Stop  her  "  and  "  Send  a  geri."  He  was  a 
model  innkeeper,  and  had  it  not  been  for  his  tea  and  talk,  the 
three  days  of  stifling  heat  under  a  mat -roof  would  have  been 
less  tolerable. 

South  of  Suk  el  Shiukh  the  river  widens  into  marshes,  where 
the  channel  is  so  shallow  that  part  of  the  cargo  of  all  river  boats 
is  transferred  to  smaller  craft.  On  account  of  this  delay,  we 
ran  short  of  provisions  before  reaching  Kurna,  and  our  boat- 
men were  such  prejudiced  sectarians  that  it  required  argument 
and  much  backsheesh  to  bargain  for  some  rice  and  the  use  of 
their  cooking-pot.  We  were  "nejis,"  "kafir,"  and  what  not, 
and  the  captain  vowed  he  would  have  to  wash  the  whole  boat 
clean  at  Busrah  from  the  footprints  of  the  unbelievers.  Between 
Suk  and  the  junction  of  the  two  rivers  to  form  the  Shatt-el- 
Arab  at  Kurna,  there  are  many  wide,  waste  marshes,  growing 
reeds  and  pasture  for  the  buffalo — a  breeding  place  for  insect 
life  and  the  terror  of  the  boatmen   because  of  the  Me'dan 


142  MABIA,   THE  CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

pirates.  We  were  three  days  on  this  part  of  the  river,  and 
often  all  of  us  were  in  the  water  to  lift  and  tug  the  boat  over 
some  mud-bank.  El  Kheit  is  the  only  village  of  any  size  the 
whole  distance,  but  the  Bedouin  of  the  swamp,  who  live  half 
the  time  in  the  water  and  have  not  arrived  at  even  the  loin- 
cloth stage  of  civilization,  are  a  great  multitude.  At  length 
we  reached  Kurna  and  thence,  by  the  broad,  lordly,  Shatt-el- 
Arab  to  the  mission-house  at  Busrah. 

What  is  to  be  the  future  of  this  great  and  wealthy  valley, 
which  once  supported  myriads  and  was  the  centre  of  culture 
and  ancient  civilization?  Will  it  evermore  rest  under  the 
blight  of  the  fez  and  the  crescent  ?  The  one  curse  of  the  land 
is  the  inane  government  and  its  ruthless  taxation.  The  goose 
with  the  golden  egg  is  killed  every  day  in  Turkey — at  least 
robbed  to  its  last  nest-egg.  The  shepherd -tribes,  the  villagers, 
the  nomads,  the  agricultural  communities,  all  suffer  alike  from 
the  same  cause.  When  and  whence  will  deliverance  come  ? 
Perhaps  a  partial  reply  to  these  two  questions  will  be  found  if 
we  read  between  the  lines  in  our  chapter  on  the  recent  politics 
of  Arabia.  A  Turkish  railroad  in  the  Euphrates  valley  would 
rust ;  but  a  railroad  under  any  other  government  would  develop 
a  region  capable  of  magnificent  improvement. 


XV 

THE   INTERIOR — KNOWN    AND   UNKNOWN 

"  The  central  provinces  of  Nejd,  the  genuine  Wahabi  country,  is  to  the 
rest  of  Arabia  a  sort  of  a  lion's  den  on  which  few  venture  and  yet  fewer 
return." — Palgrave. 

"A  desert  world  of  new  and  dreadful  aspect!  black  camels,  and  un- 
couth hostile  mountains ;  and  a  vast  sand  wilderness  shelving  toward  the 
dire  impostor's  city." — Doughty. 

'"p^HE  region  which,  for  want  of  a  more  definite  name,  we 
-^  may  call  the  Interior  includes  four  large  districts. 
Three  of  these  have  been  comparatively  well  explored  and 
mapped,  but  the  fourth  is  utterly  unknown.  These  districts 
are  :  Roba' -el-Khali,  Nejran  with  Wady  Dauasir,  Nejd  proper, 
and  Jebel  Shammar. 

It  is  surprising  that  at  the  close  of  the  nineteenth  century 
there  should  remain  so  many  portions  of  our  globe  still  unex- 
plored. We  have  better  maps  of  the  north  pole  and  of  the 
moon  than  we  have  of  Southeastern  Arabia  and  parts  of  Central 
Asia.  A  triangle  formed  by  lines  drawn  from  Harrara  in  Oman 
to  El  Harik  in  Southern  Nejd,  thence  to  Marib  in  Yemen  and 
back  to  Harrara  will  measure  very  nearly  500  miles  on  each 
of  its  upper  sides  and  800  on  the  base.  This  triangle,  with  an 
area  of  120,000  square  miles  is  as  utterly  unknown  to  the 
world  at  large  as  if  it  were  an  undiscovered  continent  in  some 
polar  sea.  Never  has  it  been  crossed  by  any  European  traveller 
or  entered  by  an  explorer.  It  includes  all  the  hinterland  of 
the  Mahrah  and  Gharah  tribes,  all  western  Oman  and  the  so- 
called  Roba' -el-Khali  (literally,  "empty  abode  ")  of  the  Dahna 
desert,  as  well  as  that  mysterious  region  of  El  Ahkaf  to  which 

143 


144  ARABU,   THE  CRADLE  OE  ISLAM 

tlie  Koran  refers  and  which  is  said  by  the  Arabs  to  be  a  sea 
of  quicksands,  able  to  swallow  whole  caravans. 

On  most  maps  the  region  in  question  is  left  blank ;  others 
designate  it  as  an  uninterrupted  desert  from  Mecca  to  Oman  ; 
while  Ptolemy's  map  describes  the  region  as  producing  myrrh 
and  abounding  in  Arab  tribes  and  caravan-routes.  Whatever 
we  know  of  the  country  at  present  must  be  the  result  of  Arab 
hearsay  booked  by  travellers  in  the  coast- provinces.  The  few 
names  of  places  given  in  the  Roba' -el-Khali. would  fiot  lead 
one  to  suppose  that  "  uninterrupted  desert"  was  its  only  char- 
acteristic feature.  In  the  north  are  Jebel  Athal  (the  Tamarisk 
Mountains),  and  Wady  Yebrin.  Wady  Shibwan  and  Wady 
Habuna  seem  to  extend  at  least  some  distance  into  the  triangle 
from  the  west,  while,  in  the  very  centre  we  have  the  very  un- 
usual names  for  a  desert  region  Belad-ez-Zohur  (Flower- 
country)  and  El-Joz  (the  nut-trees).  There  is  no  doubt  that  a 
large  part  of  the  region  is  now  desert  and  uninhabited ;  but  it 
may  not  always  have  been  so  and  may  hold  its  own  secrets, 
archaeological  and  geographical. 

An  Arab  of  Wady  Fatima  told  Doughty,  what  the  divine 
partition  of  the  world  was  in  the  following  words:  "Two 
quarters  Allah  divided  to  the  children  of  Adam,  the  third  part 
He  gave  to  Gog  and  Magog,  a  manikin  people,  parted  from  us 
by  a  wall,  which  they  shall  overskip  in  the  latter  days ;  and 
then  will  they  overrun  the  world.  Of  their  kindred  be  the 
gross  Turks  and  the  misbelieving  Persians ;  but  you,  the  Eng- 
leys  are  of  the  good  kind  with  us.  The  fourth  part  of  the 
world  is  called  Roba' -el-Khali,  the  empty  quarter."  Doughty 
adds,  "I  never  found  any  Arabian  who  had  aught  to  tell, 
even  by  hearsay,  of  that  dreadful  country.  Haply  it  is  Nefud, 
with  quicksands,  which  might  be  entered  into  and  even  passed 
with  milch  dromedaries  in  the  spring  weeks.  Now  my  health 
failed  me;  otherwise  I  had  sought  to  unriddle  that  enigma." 
It  still  awaits  solution.  In  Oman  they  say  it  is  only  twenty- 
seven  days'  caravan  march  overland  to  Mecca  right  through 


THE  INTERIOR— K NO ^N  ^ND  UNKNOJVN  145 

the  desert ;  perhaps  from  the  Oman  highlands  one  could  more 
easily  penetrate  into  the  unknown  and  get  safely  to  Riad  if  not 
to  Yemen. 

Nejran,  celebrated  as  an  ancient  Christian  province  of  Arabia 
and  sacred  by  the  blood  of  martyrs,  lies  north  of  Yemen  and 
east  of  the  Asir  country.  Together  with  the  Dauasir-Wady 
region  it  forms  a  strip  of  territory  about  300  miles  long  and 
100  broad,  well-watered  and  even  more  fertile  than  the  best 
parts  of  Yemen. ^  The  intrepid  traveller,  Halevy  (1870)  first 
visited  this  region  from  Yemen  and  found  a  large  Jewish  popu- 
lation in  the  southern  part.  He  visited  the  towns  Mahlaf, 
Rijlah  and  Karyet-el-Kabil,  penetrated  Wady  Habuna  but 
could  not  succeed  in  reaching  Wady  Dauasir.  He  describes 
the  fertility  of  the  Wadys  and  the  extensive  date-plantations 
of  this  part  of  Arabia  in  terms  of  greatest  admiration.  Ruins 
and  inscriptions  are  plentiful.  In  Wady  Dauasir  the  Arabs  say 
that  the  palm-groves  extend  three  dromedary-journeys.  The 
people  are  all  agricultural  Arabs  but,  as  in  Oman,  they  live  in 
continual  feud  and  turmoil  because  of  tribal  jealousies  and  old 
quarrels. 

The  region  east  of  Wady  Dauasir  is  called  Aflaj  or  Felej- 
el-Aflaj,  two  days'  journey  distant ;  here  there  are  also  palm- 
oases.  It  is  six  days'  journey  thence  to  Riad,  but  the  way  is 
rugged,  without  villages.^     It  was  along  Wady  Dauasir  that  I 

'  It  contains  the  following  Wadys :  Nejran,  Habuna,  Wanan,  Moyazet, 
Bedr  and  the  extensive  Wady  Dauasir. 

'Aflaj  has  six  villages :  Siah,  Leyta,  Khurfa,  Er-Rautha,  El-Bedia.  Wady 
Dauasir  has  these  towns  :  El-Hammam,  Es-Shotibba,  Es-Soleil,  Tamera, 
Ed-Dam,  El-Loghf,  El-Ferra,  Es-Showeik,  and  EI-Ayathat.  (Doughty.) 
Most  of  these  towns  are  not  given  on  the  maps ;  but  as  some  of  them  are, 
it  is  interesting  to  mention  the  route  from  Hassa  to  this  Wady,  given  by 
Capt.  Miles  in  a  letter  to  Sprenger  (dated  Muscat,  March,  1873)  and 
quoted  in  his  "Alte  Geog.  Arabiens,"  page  240.  "Route  from  El  Hasa 
to  Solail :  Hassa,  Kharaj,  Howta,  Hilvva,  Leilah,  Kharfa,  Rondha,  El 
Sih,  Bidia,  Shitba,  Solail.  From  Solail  to  Runniya  it  is  three  days' 
journey.     It  is  a  town  larger  than  Solail.     The  Dosiri  tribes  are  as  fol* 


146  /IR/IBM,   THE  CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

had  hoped  to  make  the  overland  journey  from  Sana  to  Bahrehi 
in  1894  ;  once  beyond  Turkish  espionage  the  way  would  have 
been  open.  According  to  the  testimony  of  Halevy  the  in- 
habitants of  Nejran  and  Wady  Dauasir  are  not  fanatical.  No- 
where in  Yemen  are  the  Jews  treated  so  kindly  as  by  the  Arabs 
of  Nejran.  This  entire  region  must  also  be  classed  with  the 
fertile  districts  of  Arabia.  Water  is  everywhere  abundant 
coming  down  from  the  Jebel  Rian,  fifteen  days'  journey  from 
Toweyk  and  from  the  southern  ranges  of  Jebel  Ban  and  Jebel 
Tumra.  The  inhabitants  of  Nejran  and  of  Southern  Dauasir 
are  heretical  Moslems.  They  belong  to  the  Bayadhi  sect  like 
the  people  of  Oman/  and  are  supposed  to  be  followers  of  Abd- 
Allah-bin-Abad  (746  a.  d.). 

Historically,  Nejran  is  of  special  interest  because  here  it  was 
that  the  Roman  army  of  11,000  men  sent  by  Augustus  Caesar 
under  .^lius  Gallus  to  make  a  prey  of  the  chimerical  riches  of 
Arabia  Felix  came  to  grief.  The  warriors  did  not  fall  in  battle 
but,  purposely  misled  by  the  Nabateans,  their  allies,  they 
marched  painfully  over  the  waterless  wastes  in  Central  Arabia 
six  months ;  the  most  perished  in  misery  and  only  a  remnant 
returned.  Strabo,  writing  from  the  mouth  of  Gallus  himself, 
who  was  his  friend  and  prefect  of  Egypt,  gives  a  description  of 
the  Arabian  desert  that  cannot  be  improved  :  "  It  is  a  sandy 
waste  with  only  a  few  palms  and  pits  of  water :  the  acacia 
thorn  and  the  tamarisk  grow  there ;  the  wandering  Arabs  lodge 
in  tents  and  are  camel  graziers." 

Nejd — the  heart  of  Arabia,  the  genuine  Arabia,  the  Arabia 
of  the  poets — is  properly  bounded, — on  the  east,  by  the  Turkish 
province  of  Hasa ;  on  the  south  by  the  border  of  the  desert 

lows:  El-Woodaieen  at  Solail;  El  Misahiieh  possess  most  camels,  etc.; 
Al  Hassan  at  Wasit ;  Beni  Goweit ;  El-Khutran  in  Shitba  ;  ElSherafa; 
El-'Umoor,  east  end  of  Wady ;  Al  Saad,  west  of  Wady  ;  El-Showaiej ; 
El-Khamaseen;  El  Kahtan ;  Hamid ;  Al  Aniar ;  El  Farjan  in  Khaifa." 

1 A  full  account  of  their  peculiar  beliefs  and  their  disputed  origin  is 
given  in  the  Appendix  to  Badger's  "  History  of  Oman." 


THE  INTERIOR— KNOIVN  AND  UNKNOIVN  147 

near  Yemama ;  on  the  west  by  Hejaz  in  its  widest  extent  to 
Khaibarj  and  on  the  north  by  Jebel  Shammar.  Thus  defined 
it  inchides  the  regions  of  El-Kasim,  El-Woshem,  El-Aared, 
and  Yemama.  The  "Zephyrs  of  Nejd "  are  the  pregnant 
theme  of  many  an  Arab  poet  and  in  these  highlands  that  the 
air  is  crisp  and  dry  and  invigorating,  especially  to  the  visitors 
from  the  hot  and  moist  coast  provinces.  It  was  such  a  poet 
who  wrote  in  raptures  of  the  Nejd  climate  : 

"  Then  said  I  to  my  companion  while  the  camels  were  hastening 
To  bear  us  down  the  pass  between  Menifah  and  Demar  : 
'  Enjoy  while  thou  canst  the  sweets  of  the  meadows  of  Nejd  ; 
With  no  such  meadows  and  sweets  shalt  thou  meet  after  this  evening.' 
Ah!  heaven's  blessing  on  the  scented  gales  of  Nejd, 
And  its  greensward  and  groves  glittering  from  the  spring  showers ; 
And  thy  dear  friends  when  thy  lot  was  cast  in  Nejd  — 
Months  flew  past,  they  passed  and  we  knew  not, 
Nor  when  their  moons  were  new  nor  when  they  waned." 

As  to  the  real  and  prosaic  features  of  the  country,  Nejd  is  a 
plateau  of  which  Jebel  Toweyk  is  the  centre  and  backbone. 
Its  general  height  above  the  sea  is  about  4,000  feet,  but  there 
are  more  lofty  ledges  and  peaks,  some  as  high  as  5,500  feet. 
These  highlands  are  for  the  most  clothed  with  fine  pasture ; 
trees  are  common,  solitary  or  in  little  groups ;  and  the  entire 
plateau  is  intersected  by  a  maze  of  valleys  cut  out  of  the  sand- 
stone and  limestone.  In  these  countless  hollows  is  concen- 
trated the  fertility  and  the  population  of  Nejd.  The  soil  of  the 
valleys  is  light,  mixed  with  marl  sand  and  pebbles  washed 
down  from  the  cliffs.  Water  is  found  everywhere  in  wells  at  a 
depth  of  not  much  over  fifteen  feet  and  often  less  ;  in  Kasim  it 
has  a  brackish  taste,  and  the  soil  is  salty,  but  in  other  parts  of 
Nejd  there  are  traces  of  iron  in  it.  The  climate  of  all  Nejd, 
according  to  Palgrave,  is  perhaps  one  of  the  healthiest  in  the 
world.  The  air  is  dry,  clear  and  free  from  all  the  malarial 
poison  of  the  coast ;  the  summers  are  warm  but  not  sultry,  and 
the   winter   air   is   biting   cold.     The  usual  monotony  of  an 


148  ARABIA,    THE   CRADLE   OF  ISLAM 

Arabian  landscape  is  not  only  enlivened  by  the  presence  of  the 
date-palm  near  the  villages,  but  by  groups  of  Talh,  Nebaa'  and 
Sidr,  the  Ithl  and  Ghada  Euphorbia — all  of  them  good-sized 
shrubs  or  trees.' 

Nejd  is  pasture  land,  so  that  its  breed  of  sheep  are  known  all 
over  Arabia ;  their  wool  is  remarkably  fine,  almost  equal  to 
Cashmire  in  softness  and  delicacy.  Camels  abound ;  accord- 
ing to  Palgrave,  Nejd  is  "  a  wilderness  of  camels."  The  color 
is  generally  brownish  white  or  grey ;  black  camels  are  found 
westward  and  southward  in  the  inhospitable  Harra-country  to- 
ward Mecca.  Oxen  and  cows  are  not  uncommon.  Game  is 
plenty,  both  feathered  and  quadruped.  Partridges,  quail,  a 
kind  of  bustard ;  gazelle,  hares,  jerboa,  wild-goat,  wild-boars, 
porcupine,  antelope,  and  a  kind  of  wild-ox  (wathyhi)  with 
beautiful  horns.  Snakes  are  not  common,  but  lizards,  centi- 
pedes and  scorpions  abound.  The  ostrich  is  also  found  in 
western  Nejd  as  well  as  in  Wady  Dauasir.  The  Bedouin  hunt 
them  to  sell  the  skins  to  the  Damascus  feather  merchants  who 
come  down  with  the  Haj  every  year  to  Mecca ;  forty  reals 
(dollars)  was  the  price  paid  in  Doughty' s  time  for  a  single  skin 
. — a  small  fortune  to  the  poor  nomad.  Mounted  on  their 
dromedaries  they  watch  for  the  bird  and  then  waylay  it,  match- 
lock ready  to  hand.  The  Arabs  esteem  the  breast  of  the  ostrich 
good  food  ;  the  fat  is  a  sovereign  remedy  with  them  and  half  a 
finjan  (the  measure  of  an  Arab  coffee-cup),  is  worth  half  a 
Turkish  mejidie.  The  ostrich  is  no  longer  as  common  in 
Arabia  as  formerly,  and  in  many  parts  of  the  peninsula  the  bird 
is  unknown  even  by  name. 

Nejd  is  a  land  of  camels  and  horses.  But  although  a  fine 
breed  of  the  latter  exist  it  is  a  common  mistake  to  suppose  that 
horses  are  plentiful  in  Central  Arabia  and  that  every  Arab  owns 

'The  Talh  is  a  large  tree  of  roundish,  scanty,  leafage,  with  a  little  dry 
berry  for  fruit,  its  branches  are  wide-spreading  and  thorny.  The  Nebaa' 
is  much  smaller  though  of  considerable  height ;  it  has  very  small  ovate 
bright  green  leaves.     The  Sidr  is  a  little  acacia  tree. 


THE  INTERIOR— KNOIVN  AND  UNKNOIVN  149 

his  steed.  Doughty  says  "there  is  no  breeding  or  sale  of 
horses  at  Boreyda  or  Aneyza  nor  any  town  in  Nejd."  Most  of 
the  horses  shipped  from  Busrah  or  Kuweit  to  Bombay  are  not 
from  Nejd,  although  originally  of  Nejd-breed,  but  come  from 
Jebel  Shammar  and  the  Mesopotamian  valley.  He  who  would 
know  all  about  the  beauty  of  the  Nejd  horse  must  visit  the 
Hail  stables  with  Palgrave  who  "goes  raving  mad"  about  the 
animals;  or  he  can  read  Lady  Ann  Blunt's  "Pilgrimage  to 
Nejd"  in  search  of  horses;  better  still  let  him  buy  that  re- 
markable book  by  Colonel  Tweedie :  The  Arabian  Horse, 
His  country  and  His  people.  In  this  volume  the  horse  is  the 
hero  and  Arabs  are  grooms  and  stable-boys.  The  Arab  is  more 
kind  to  his  horse  than  to  any  other  animal.  No  Arab  dreams 
of  tying  up  a  horse  by  the  neck ;  a  tether  replaces  the  halter, 
one  of  the  animal's  hind-legs  being  encircled  about  the  pastern 
by  a  light  iron  ring  or  leather  strap,  and  connected  with  a  chain 
or  rope  to  an  iron  peg.  Nejdi  horses  are  specially  valuable  for 
great  speed  and  endurance.  They  are  all  built  for  riding  and 
not  for  draught ;  to  the  unprofessional  eye  they  do  not  seem  at 
all  superior  to  the  best  horses  seen  in  London  or  New  York 
City,  but  I  leave  the  matter  to  the  authorities  mentioned.^ 

'  For  our  present  knowledge  of  the  government,  population,  cities  and 
villages  of  Nejd  we  are  chiefly  indebted  to  the  following  travellers:  Cap- 
tain G.  F.  Sadlier,  of  the  English  army,  who  was  the  first  European  to 
cross  the  Arabian  Peninsula.  (1819.)  George  Wallin,  a  learned  young 
Swedish  Arabist,  travelling  in  1845  ^"^^  1848  as  a  Mohammedan  doctor  of 
law,  passed  through  the  northern  desert  from  Jauf  to  Hail  and  visited 
Medina.  William  Gifford  Palgrave,  a  Jesuit  Roman  Catholic,  of  English 
birth  and  scholarly  tastes  made  his  celebrated  journey  across  Arabia  from 
west  to  east  in  1862-63.  In  1864  the  bold  Italian  traveller  Guarmani 
went  from  Jerusalem  straight  to  Jebel  Shammar  and  Aneyza.  In  1865 
Colonel  Pelly,  the  British  Resident  at  Bushire  made  an  important  journey, 
in  company  with  Dr.  Colville  and  Lieutenant  Dawes,  from  Kuweit  through 
southeastern  Nejd  to  Riadh,  returning  by  Hassa  to  Ojeir  and  Bahrein.  Then 
Charles  M.  Doughty  (facile  priiiceps  among  all  authorities  and  travellers 
Arabian)  made  his  long,  arduous,  zigzag  journeys   through   northwestern 


150  ARABIA,   THE   CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

The  government  of  Nejd  indicates  what  the  independent 
rulers  of  Arabia  are  like.  Doughty  testifies  that  the  sum  of 
all  he  could  learn  from  the  mouth  of  the  Arabs  themselves  of 
Ibn  Rashid's  government  (now  in  the  hands  of  Abd-el-Aziz 
bin  Mitaab,  his  nephew)  was  this  :  *'  He  makes  sure  of  them 
that  may  be  won  by  gifts,  he  draws  the  sword  against  his  ad- 
versaries, he  treads  down  them  that  fear  him  and  he  were  no 
right  ruler,  hewed  he  no  heads  off !  "  Some  of  the  nomads 
consider  the  prince  of  Nejd  a  tyrant,  but  the  villagers  gener- 
ally are  well  content.  Forsooth  it  is  better  for  them  to  have 
one  tyrant  than  many,  as  in  the  days  before  the  political  up- 
heaval that  unified  central  Arabia.  Other  of  the  more  reli- 
gious folk  of  Nejd  cannot  forget  the  bloody  path  by  which  Ibn 
Rashid  gained  his  seat  of  power  and  call  him  '■^  Nejis,  (pol- 
luted), a  cutter-off  of  his  kinsfolk  with  the  sword." 

Lavish  sums  in  the  eyes  of  the  starved  Bedouin  are  spent  on 
hospitality  but  all  guests  are  pleased  and  depart  from  the  pile 
of  rice  to  praise  God  and  the  Amir  of  Nejd.  Daily,  in  the 
guest-room,  according  to  Doughty,  one  hundred  and  eighty 
messes  of  barley-bread  with  rice  and  butter  are  served  to  the 
men  freely ;  a  camel  or  smaller  animal  is  killed  for  the  first- 
class  guests  and  the  total  expense  of  his  famous  hospitality  is 
not  over  ;;^i,5oo  annually.  The  revenues  are  immense  and 
Ibn  Rashid's  private  fortune  had  grown  large  even  when 
Doughty  visited  him  in  1877.  He  has  cattle  innumerable  and 
"40,000  camels";  some  300  blooded  mares  and  100  horses; 
over  100  negro  slaves;  besides  private  riches  laid  up  in 
silver  metal,  land  at  Hail  and  plantations  in  Jauf. 

Contrasted  with  the  Turkish  provinces  of  Arabia  the  subjects 
of  the  Amir  of  Nejd  enjoy  light  taxation  and  even  the  Bedouin 
warriors  who  are  in  the  service  of  the  Nejd  ruler  receive  better 
wages  than  the  regular  troops  of  the  Sultan.     From  the  descrip- 

and  northern  Arabia  from  November,  1876,  to  August,  1878.  Our  other 
authority  for  Nejd  is  Lady  Ann  Blunt  who  with  her  husband  visited  the 
capital  of  Ibn  Rashid's  country  from  Bagdad  in  1883. 


THE  INTERIOR— KNOIVN  AND  UNKNOIVN  151 

tion  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Blunt  and  Doughty  at  Hail,  one  cannot  but 
feel  that  the  government  of  Nejd  is  much  more  liberal  and  less 
fanatical  than  it  was  in  the  old  days  of  the  Wahabis  as  de- 
scribed by  Palgrave.  The  old  Wahabi  power  is  now  broken 
forever  and  Nejd  is  getting  into  touch  with  the  world  through 
commerce.  Kasim  already  resembles  the  border-lands  and  the 
inhabitants  are  worldly-wise  with  the  wisdom  of  the  Bombay 
horse-dealers.  Many  of  the  youth  of  Nejd  visit  Bagdad,  Bus- 
rah  and  Bahrein  in  their  commercial  ventures.  Says  Doughty, 
"all  Nejd  Arabia,  east  of  Teyma,  appertains  to  the  Persian 
Gulf  traffic  and  not  to  Syria  [as  does  western  Nejd] :  and 
therefore  the  foreign  color  of  Nejd  is  Mesopotamian."  He 
marvelled  at  the  erudition  of  the  Nejd  Arabs  in  spite  of  their 
isolation  until  he  found  that  even  here  newspapers  had  found 
their  way  in  recent  years.  English  patent  medicines  are  sold 
in  the  bazaar  of  Aneyza  and  the  Arabs  are  somewhat  ac- 
quainted with  the  wonders  of  Bombay  and  Calcutta.  Pal- 
grave found  the  inhabitants  of  Kasim  and  southern  Nejd  far 
more  intelligent  than  those  of  the  north.  Except  for  the  four 
large  towns  of  Hail,  Riad,  Boreyda  and  Aneyza,  Nejd  has 
no  large  centres  of  population.  Bedouin  tribes  are  found 
everywhere  and  villagers  cultivate  the  fertile  oases  even  in  the 
desert;  but  the  population  is  not  as  dense  as  in  Oman  or 
Yemen  nor  even  as  in  Nejran  and  Wady  Dauasir. 

Hail,  the  present  capital  of  Nejd,  may  have  a  population  of 
ten  thousand  within  its  walls.  It  lies  east  of  Jebel  Aja,  a 
granite  range  6,000  feet  high  ending  abruptly  at  this  point. 
The  city  is  on  a  table-land  3,500  feet  above  the  sea.  The 
Amir's  castle  is  a  formidable  stronghold  occupying  a  position 
of  immense  natural  strength  in  the  Jebel  Aja.  Blunt  visited 
this  place  in  1878,  but  does  not  give  its  exact  site,  "lest  the 
information  might  be  utilized  by  the  Turks  under  possible  fu- 
ture contingencies."  We  have  three  pen-pictures  of  Hail: 
that  of  Palgrave  who  drew  a  plan  of  the  city ;  the  descrip- 
tion of  Doughty  with  his  plan  of  the  Amir's  residence  and 


152  ARABIA,   THE   CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

guest-house  ;  and  the  sketches  of  Lady  Ann  Blunt  on  her  pil- 
grimage. It  is  a  walled  town  with  several  gates,  a  large  mar- 
ket-place, the  palaces  overtopping  all  and  mosques  sufficient 
for  the  worshippers.  It  is  a  clean,  well-built  town,  according 
to  Doughty  and  pleasant  to  live  in  save  for  the  awe  of  the 
tyrant-ruler.  Its  circuit  may  be  nearly  an  hour ;  in  the  centre 
of  the  walled  enclosure  stands  the  palace ;  near  it  the  great 
mosque  and  directly  opposite  the  principal  bazaar.  The  great 
coffee-hall  where  the  Amir  gives  his  audiences  is  eighty  feet 
long  with  lofty  walls  and  of  noble  proportions.  It  has  long 
rows  of  pillars  "  upholding  the  flat  roof  of  ethel  timbers  and 
palm-stalk  mat-work,  goodly  stained  and  varnished  with  the 
smoke  of  the  daily  hospitality.  Under  the  walls  are  benches 
of  clay  overspread  with  Bagdad  carpets.  By  the  entry  stands 
a  mighty  copper-tinned  basin  or  '  sea '  of  fresh  water  with  a 
chained  cup  ;  from  thence  the  coffee-server  draws  and  he  may 
drink  who  thirsts.  In  the  upper  end  of  this  princely  kahwa 
(coffee-house)  are  two  fire-pits,  like  shallow  graves,  where 
desert  bushes  are  burned  in  colder  weather ;  they  lack  good 
fuel,  and  fire  is  blown  commonly  under  the  giant  coffee-pots  in 
a  clay  hearth  like  a  smith's  furnace." 

The  palace  castles  are  built  in  Nejd  with  battled  towers  of  clay- 
brick  and  whitened  on  the  outside  with  jiss  or  plaster;  this  in 
contrast  with  the  palm-gardens  in  the  walled-enclosure  give  the 
town  a  bright,  fresh  aspect.  Outside  the  walls,  the  contrast  of 
the  Bedouin  squalor  and  the  rusty  black  basalt  rocks  lying  in 
rough  confusion  is  intense.  Hail  lies  in  the  midst  of  a  barren 
country  and  is  an  oasis  not  by  nature  but  by  the  pluck  and  per- 
severance of  its  founders.  The  Shammar  Arabs  settled  here  from 
antiquity  and  the  place  is  mentioned  in  the  ancient  poem  of  Antar. 

Er-Riadh  or  Riad  (the  "gardens-in-the-desert  ")  was  the 
Wahabi  metropolis  of  Eastern  Nejd  and  of  all  the  Wahabi 
empire.  The  city  lies  in  the  heart  of  the  Aared  country,  en- 
closed north  and  south  by  Jebel  Toweyk  and  about  280  miles 
southeast  of  Hail.     It  is  a  large  place  (according  to  Palgrave  of 


THE  INTERIOR— KNOIVN  AND  UNKNOIVN  153 

30,000  population  !),  but  nothing  is  known  of  its  present  state, 
as  no  European  traveller  has  visited  it  since  Palgrave.  The  gen- 
eral appearance  of  Riad,  according  to  our  guide  is  like  that  of 
Damascus.  "Before  us  stretched  a  wide  open  valley,  and  in 
its  foreground,  immediately  below  the  pebbly  slope  on  whose 
summit  we  stood,  lay  the  capital,  large  and  square,  crowned 
by  high  towers  and  strong  walls  of  defence,  a  mass  of  roofs 
and  terraces,  where,  overtopping  all,  frowned  the  huge  but 
irregular  pile  of  Feysul's  royal  castle,  and  hard  by  it  rose  the 
scarce  less  conspicuous  palace,  built  and  inhabited  by  his 
eldest  son,  Abdallah.  All  around  for  full  three  miles  over  the 
surrounding  plain,  but  more  especially  to  the  west  and  south, 
waved  a  sea  of  palm-trees  above  green  fields  and  well-watered 
gardens ;  while  the  singing,  droning  sound  of  the  water-wheels 
reached  us  even  where  we  had  halted  at  a  quarter  of  a  mile  or 
more  from  the  nearest  town-walls.  On  the  opposite  side  south- 
ward, the  valley  opened  out  into  the  great  and  even  more  fertile 
plains  of  Yemama,  thickly  dotted  with  groves  and  villages, 
among  which  the  large  town  Manhufah,  hardly  inferior  in  size 
to  Riad  itself,  might  be  clearly  distinguished.  ...  In  all 
the  countries  which  I  have  visited,  and  they  are  many,  seldom 
has  it  been  mine  to  survey  a  landscape  equal  to  this  in  beauty, 
and  in  historical  meaning,  rich  and  full  alike  to  the  eye  and 
the  mind.  The  mixture  of  tropical  aridity  and  luxuriant  ver- 
dure, of  crowded  population  and  desert  tracts,  is  one  that 
Arabia  alone  can  present,  and  in  comparison  with  which  Syria 
seems  tame  and  Italy  monotonous."  ^ 

Undoubtedly  the  population  of  Riad  has  diminished  since 
the  seat  of  government  was  transferred  to  Hail ;  at  present  it 
has  even  less  trade  and  importance  than  Hof  hoof  (Hassa)  since 
the  Turkish  occupation. 

'  If  we  remember  that  Palgrave  compares  Feysul's  mud-brick  palace  to 
the  Tuileries  of  Paris,  states  that  the  great  mosque  of  Riad  can  accommodate 
2,000  worshippers,  and  gives  the  Wahabi  ruler  a  standing  army  of  50,000, 
we  deduct  a  little  from  the  poetical  description  to  have  a  balance  of  net  facts. 


154  /iR^BM,    THE   CRADLE   OF  ISLAM 

Jebel  Shammar  and  the  northwestern  desert,  remain  to  be 
considered.  The  chief  characteristics  of  this  region  are  the 
extensive  Nefuds  or  sandy-deserts  and  the  nomad  population. 
Jebel  Shammar  more  than  any  part  of  Arabia  is  the  tenting 
ground  for  the  sons  of  Kedar.  Everywhere  are  the  black- 
worsted  booths — the  houses  of  goat-hair,  so  celebrated  in 
Arabic  poetry  and  song.  Place-names  on  the  map  of  this 
country  are  not  villages  or  cities  but  watering-places  for  cattle 
and  encampments  of  the  tribes  from  year  to  year.  From  the 
Gulf  of  Akaba  to  the  Euphrates,  and  as  far  north  as  their 
flocks  can  find  pasture,  the  nomads  call  the  land  their  own. 
Many  of  them  are  subject  to  the  government  of  Nejd  and  pay 
a  small  annual  tribute ;  some  are  nominally  under  Turkish  rule 
and  others  know  no  ruler  save  their  Sheikh  and  have  no  law 
save  that  of  immemorial  Bedouin  custom. 

Burckhardt  discourses  of  these  people  like  one  who  has  dwelt 
among  them,  tasting  the  sweet  and  bitter  of  their  hungry, 
homely  life.  He  describes  their  tents  and  their  simple  furni- 
ture, arms,  utensils,  diet,  arts,  industry,  sciences,  diseases,  re- 
ligion, matrimony,  government,  and  warfare.  He  tells  of  their 
hospitality  to  the  stranger ;  their  robbery  of  the  traveller ;  their 
blood-revenge  and  blood -covenants ;  their  slaves  and  servants ; 
their  feasts  and  rejoicings ;  their  domestic  relations  and  public 
functions ;  their  salutations  and  language ;  and  how  at  last 
they  bury  their  dead  in  a  single  garment,  scraping  out  a  shal- 
low grave  in  hard-burned  soil  and  heaping  on  a  few  rough 
stones  to  keep  away  the  foul  hyenas. 

Burckhardt  devotes  a  considerable  portion  of  his  book  to  an 
enumeration  of  the  Bedouin-tribes  and  their  numerous  sub- 
divisions. These  will  prove  of  great  service  to  those  who  visit 
or  cross  the  northern  part  of  the  Peninsula.  The  most  impor- 
tant tribe  is  that  of  the  Anaeze.  They  are  nomads  in  the 
strictest  acceptation  of  the  word,  for  they  continue  during  the 
whole  year  in  almost  constant  motion.  Their  summer  quarters 
are  near  the  Syrian  frontiers  and  in  winter  they  retire  into  the 


THE  INTERIOR— KNOIVN  AND  UNKNOlVN  155 

heart  of  the  desert  or  toward  the  Euphrates.  When  the  tents 
are  few  they  are  pitched  in  a  circle  and  called  dowar,  in 
greater  numbers,  they  encamp  in  rows,  one  behind  the  other, 
especially  along  a  rivulet  or  wady-bed  ;  such  encampments  are 
called  Nezel.  The  Sheikh's  or  chief's  tent  has  the  principal 
place  generally  toward  the  direction  whence  guests  or  foes  may 
be  expected.  The  Anaeze  tents  are  always  of  black  goat's- 
hair;  some  other  tribes  have  stuff  striped  white  and  black. 
Even  the  richest  among  them  never  have  more  than  one  tent 
unless  he  happen  to  have  a  second  wife  who  cannot  live  on 
good  terms  with  the  first ;  he  then  pitches  a  smaller  tent  near 
his  own.  But  polygamy  is  very  unusual  among  the  Bedouin 
Arabs,  although  divorce  is  common.  The  tent  furniture  is 
simplicity  itself;  camel-saddles  and  cooking  utensils  with 
carpets  and  provision  skins,  are  all  the  Arab  housewife  has  to 
look  after. 

Since  the  days  of  Job  the  Bedouin  have  been  a  nation  of 
robbers.  "  The  oxen  were  plowing  and  the  asses  feeding  beside 
them ;  and  the  Sabeans  fell  upon  them  and  took  them  away, 
yea  they  have  slain  the  servants  with  the  edge  of  the  sword." 
(Job  i.  14.)  The  Bedouin's  hand  is  against  every  man  in  all 
Jebel  Shammar  to  this  day.  The  tribes  are  in  a  state  of  almost 
perpetual  war  against  each  other ;  it  seldom  happens,  accord- 
ing to  Burckhardt,  that  a  tribe  enjoys  a  moment  of  general 
peace  with  all  its  neighbors,  yet  the  war  between  two  tribes  is 
not  of  long  duration.  Peace  is  easily  made  and  easily  broken. 
In  Bedouin  parlance  a  salt  covenant  \§,  only  binding  while  the 
salt  is  in  their  stomachs.  General  battles  are  rarely  fought, 
and  few  lives  are  lost ;  to  surprise  an  enemy  by  sudden  attack, 
or  to  plunder  a  camp,  are  the  chief  objects  of  both  parties. 
The  dreadful  effects  of  "blood-revenge"  (by  which  law  the 
kindred  of  the  slain  are  in  duty  bound  to  slay  the  murderer  or 
his  kin)  prevent  many  sanguinary  conflicts.  Whatever  the 
Arabs  take  in  their  predatory  excursions  is  shared  according  to 
previous   agreement.     Sometimes   the  whole   spoil   is   equally 


156  ARABIA,   THE  CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

divided  by  the  Sheikh  among  his  followers ;  at  other  times  each 
one  plunders  for  himself.  A  Bedouin  raid  is  called  a  ghazii, 
and  it  is  worthy  of  remark  that  the  earliest  biographer  of 
Mohammed,  Ibn  Ishak,  so  designates  the  wars  of  the  prophet 
of  God  with  the  Koreish.  The  Anaeze  Bedouin  never  attack 
by  night,  for  during  the  confusion  of  a  nocturnal  assault  the 
women's  apartments  might  be  entered,  and  this  they  regard  as 
treachery.  The  female  sex  is  respected  even  among  the  most 
inveterate  enemies  whenever  a  camp  is  plundered,  and  neither 
men,  women  nor  slaves  are  ever  taken  prisoners.  It  is  war 
only  for  booty.  The  Arabs  are  robbers,  seldom  murderers  ;  to 
ask  protection  or  dakheil  is  sure  quarter,  even  when  the  spear 
is  lifted.  Peace  is  concluded  generally  by  arbitration  in  the 
tent  of  the  Sheikh  of  a  third  tribe  friendly  to  both  combating 
tribes.  The  most  frequent  cause  of  war  is  quarrels  over  wells 
or  watering-places  and  pasture  grounds,  just  as  in  the  days  of 
the  patriarchs. 

"The  Bedouins  have  reduced  robbery,"  says  Burckhardt, 
"in  all  its  branches  to  a  complete  and  regular  system,  which 
offers  many  interesting  details."  These  details  are  very  numer- 
ous, and  the  stories  of  robbery  and  escape  given  by  the  Arabian 
chroniclers,  or  told  at  the  camp-fires,  would  fill  a  volume. 
One  example  will  suffice  us.  Three  robbers  plan  an  attack  on 
an  encampment.  One  of  them  stations  himself  behind  the 
tent  that  is  to  be  robbed,  and  endeavors  to  excite  the  attention 
of  the  nearest  watch-dogs.  These  immediately  attack  him ; 
he  flies,  and  they  pursue  him  to  a  great  distance  from  the 
camp,  which  is  thus  cleared  of  those  dangerous  guardians. 
The  second  robber  goes  to  the  camels,  cuts  the  strings  that  con- 
fine their  legs  and  makes  as  many  rise  as  he  wishes.  He  then 
leads  one  of  the  she-camels  out  of  the  camp,  the  others  follow- 
ing as  usual,  while  the  third  robber  has  all  this  time  been 
standing  with  lifted  club  before  the  tent-door  to  strike  down 
any  one  who  might  awake  and  venture  forth.  If  the  robbers 
succeed  they  then  join  their  companion,  each  seizes  the  tail  of 


THE  INTERIOR—KNOIVN  AND  UNKNOIVN  157 

a  strong  leading-camel  and  pulls  it  with  all  his  might ;  the 
camels  set  up  a  gallop  into  the  desert  and  the  men  are  dragged 
along  by  their  booty  until  safe  distance  separates  them  from  the 
scene  of  robbery.  They  then  mount  their  prey  and  make  haste 
to  their  own  encampment. 

Before  we  lightly  condemn  the  robber  we  must  realize  his 
sore  need.  According  to  Doughty  and  other  travellers  three- 
fourths  of  the  Bedouin  of  Northwestern  Arabia  suffer  continual 
famine  and  seldom  have  enough  to  eat.  In  the  long  summer 
drought  when  pastures  fail  and  the  gaunt  camel-herds  give  no 
milk  they  are  in  a  sorry  plight ;  then  it  is  that  the  housewife 
cooks  her  slender  mess  of  rice  secretly,  lest  some  would-be 
guest  should  smell  the  pot.  The  hungry  gnawing  of  the 
Arab's  stomach  is  lessened  by  the  coffee-cup  and  the  ceaseless 
"tobacco-drinking"  from  the  nomad's  precious  pipe.  The 
women  suffer  most  and  children  languish  away.  When  one  of 
these  sons-of-desert  heard  from  Doughty's  lips  of  a  land  where 
"we  had  an  abundance  of  the  blessings  of  Allah,  bread  and 
clothing  and  peace,  and,  how,  if  any  wanted,  the  law  succored 
him — he  began  to  be  full  of  melancholy,  and  to  lament  the 
everlasting  infelicity  of  the  Arabs,  whose  lack  of  clothing  is  a 
cause  to  them  of  many  diseases,  who  have  not  daily  food  nor 
water  enough,  and  wandering  in  the  empty  wilderness,  are 
never  at  any  stay — and  these  miseries  to  last  as  long  as  their 
lives.  And  when  his  heart  was  full,  he  cried  up  to  heaven, 
'Have  mercy,  ah  Lord  God,  upon  Thy  creature  which  Thou 
createdst — pity  the  sighing  of  the  poor,  the  hungry,  the  naked 
— have  mercy — have  mercy  upon  them,  O  Allah !  '  " 

As  we  bid  farewell  to  the  tents  of  Kedar  and  the  deserts  of 
North  Arabia  let  us  say  amen  to  the  nomad's  prayer  and  judge 
them  not  harshly  in  their  misery  lest  we  be  judged. 


XVI 

"THE   TIME   OF  IGNORANCE" 

"The  religious  decay  in  Arabia  shortly  before  Islam  may  well  be  taken 
in  a  negative  sense,  in  the  sense  of  the  tribes  losing  the  feeling  of  kinship 
with  the  tribal  gods.  We  may  express  this  more  concretely  by  saying 
that  the  gods  had  become  gradually  more  and  more  nebulous  through  the 
destructive  influence  exercised,  for  about  two  hundred  years,  by  Jewish 
and  Christian  ideas,  upon  Arabian  heathenism." — H,  Hirschfeld,  in 
the  "  Journal  of  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society." 

TN  order  to  understand  the  genesis  of  Islam  we  must  know 
-*■  something  of  the  condition  of  Arabia  before  the  advent  of 
Mohammed.  We  shall  then  be  able  to  discover  the  factors 
that  influenced  the  hero-prophet  and  made  it  possible  for  him 
so  powerfully  to  sway  the  destinies  of  his  own  generation  and 
those  that  were  to  follow. 

Mohammedan  writers  call  the  centuries  before  the  birth  of 
their  Prophet  wakt-el-jahiliyeh — "the  time  of  ignorance" — 
since  the  Arabs  were  then  ignorant  of  the  true  religion.  These 
writers  naturally  chose  to  paint  the  picture  of  heathen  Arabia 
as  dark  as  possible,  in  order  that  the  "Light  of  God,"  as  the 
prophet  is  called,  might  appear  more  bright  in  contrast. 
Following  these  authorities  Sale  and  others  have  left  an  alto- 
gether wrong  impression  of  the  state  of  Arabia  when  Mohammed 
first  appeared.  The  commonly  accepted  idea  that  he  preached 
entirely  new  truth  and  uplifted  the  Arabs  to  a  higher  plane  of 
civilization  is  only  half  true.^ 

No  part  of  Arabia  has  ever  reached  the  high  stage  of  civili- 
zation under  the  rule  of  Islam  which  Yemen  enjoyed  under  its 
Christian   or   even   its   Jewish   dynasties   of  the   Himyarites. 

>  In  our  chapter  on  the  Arabic  language  we  shall  see  that  the  golden 
age  of  Arabic  literature  was  just  before  the  birth  of  Mohammed. 

158 


"THE   TIME   OF  IGNORANCE"  J59 

Early  Christianity  in  Arabia,  with  all  its  weakness,  had  been  a 
power  for  good.  The  Jews  had  penetrated  to  nearly  every 
portion  of  the  peninsula  long  before  Mohammed  came  on  the 
scene.  ^ 

In  the  "  Time  of  Ignorance  "  the  Arabs  throughout  the  penin- 
sula were  divided  into  numerous  local  tribes  or  clans  which  were 
bound  together  by  no  political  organization  but  only  by  a  tradi- 
tional sentiment  of  unity  which  they  believed,  or  feigned  to  be- 
lieve, a  unity  of  blood.  Each  group  was  a  unit  and  opposed  to  '■ 
all  the  other  clans.  Some  were  pastoral  and  some  nomadic ; 
others  like  those  at  Mecca  and  Taif  were  traders.  For  many 
centuries  Yemen  had  been  enriched  by  the  incense-trade  and 
by  its  position  as  the  emporium  of  Eastern  commerce.  Sprenger 
in  his  ancient  geography  of  the  peninsula  says  that :  "  The  history 
of  the  earliest  commerce  is  the  history  of  incense  and  the  land 
of  incense  was  Arabia."  The  immense  caravan  trade  which 
brought  all  the  wealth  of  Ormuz  and  Ind  to  the  West,  must 
have  been  a  means  of  civilization  to  the  desert.  The  tanks  of 
Marib  spread  fertility  around  and  the  region  north  of  Sana  was 
intersected  by  busy  caravan-routes.  W.  Robertson  Smith  goes 
so  far  as  to  say  that  "  In  this  period  the  name  of  Arab  was 
associated  to  Western  writers  with  ideas  of  effeminate  indolence 
and  peaceful  opulence     ...     the  golden  age  of  Yemen." 

'  "  Mohammedanism  had  owed  much  to  the  Jewish  kingdom  of  Saba. 
The  rule  of  the  Sabean  kings  had  extended  over  Mecca,  and  Jewish  ideas 
and  behefs  had  thus  made  their  way  into  the  future  birthplace  of 
Mohammed.  The  fact  is  full  of  interest  for  students  of  the  history  of 
Islam.  The  epigraphic  evidence  which  Dr.  Glaser  has  presented  to  us 
shows  that  the  rise  of  Mohammedanism  was  not  the  strange  and  unique 
phenomenon  it  has  hitherto  been  thought  to  be.  It  had  been  prepared 
for  centuries  previously.  Arabia  had  for  ages  been  the  home  of  culture 
and  the  art  of  writing,  and  for  about  two  hundred  years  before  the  birth 
of  Mohammed  his  countrymen  had  been  brought  into  close  contact  with 
the  Jewish  faith.  Future  research  will  doubtless  explain  fully  how  great 
was  his  debt  to  the  Jewish  masters  of  Mecca  and  the  Sabean  kingdom  of 
Southern  Arabia." — Prof.  A.  H.  Sayce  in  the  Independent. 


160  /iRABl/i,   THE  CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

The  Arabs  had  enjoyed  for  several  thousand  years,  an  al- 
most absolute  freedom  from  foreign  dominion  or  occupation. 
Neither  the  Egyptians,  the  Assyrians,  the  Babylonians,  the 
ancient  Persians  nor  the  Macedonians  in  their  march  of  con- 
quest ever  subjugated  or  held  any  part  of  Arabia.  But  before 
the  coming  of  the  Prophet  the  proud  freemen  of  the  desert  were 
compelled  to  bend  their  necks  repeatedly  to  the  yoke  of  Roman, 
Abyssinian  and  Persian  rulers.  In  A.  d.  105,  Trajan  sent  his 
general,  Cornelius  Palma,  and  subdued  the  Nabathean  kingdom 
of  North  Arabia.  Mesopotamia  was  conquered  and  the  eastern 
coast  of  the  peninsula  was  completely  devastated  by  the  Ro- 
mans in  A.  D.  116.  Hira  yielded  to  the  monarchs  of  Persia 
as  Ghassan  did  to  the  generals  of  Rome.  Sir  William  Muir 
writes,  "It  is  remarked  even  by  a  Mohammedan  writer  that  the 
decadence  of  the  race  of  Ghassan  was  preparing  the  way  for  the 
glories  of  the  Arabian  prophet."  In  other  words  Arabia  was 
being  invaded  by  foreign  powers  and  the  Arabs  were  ready  for 
a  political  leader  to  break  these  yokes  and  restore  the  old-time 
independence.  Roman  domination  invaded  even  Mecca  itself 
not  long  before  the  Hegira.  "  For  shortly  after  his  accession  to 
the  throne,  a.  d.  610,  the  Emperor  Heraclius  nominated  0th- 
man,  then  a  convert  to  Christianity,  ...  as  governor  of 
Mecca,  recommending  him  to  the  Koreishites  in  an  authorita- 
tive letter."^  The  Abyssinian  wars  and  invasions  of  Arabia 
during  the  century  preceding  Mohammed  are  better  known. 
Their  dominion  in  Yemen,  says  Ibn  Ishak,  lasted  seventy-two 
years,  and  they  were  finally  driven  out  by  the  Persians,  at  the 
request  of  the  Arabs. 

Arabia  was  thus  the  centre  of  political  schemes  and  plots 
just  at  the  time  when  Mohammed  came  to  manhood ;  the 
whole  peninsula  was  awake  to  the  touch  of  the  Romans, 
Abyssinians  and  Persians,  and  ready  to  rally  around  any 
banner  that  led  to  a  national  deliverance. 

As  to  the  position  of  women  in  this  "Time  of  Ignorance." 
*  Koelle's  Mohammed,  p.  5. 


''THE   TIME  OF  IGNORANCE"  161 

the  cruel  custom  of  female  infanticide  prevailed  in  many  parts 
of  heathen  Arabia.  This  was  probably  due,  in  the  first  in- 
stance, to  poverty  or  famine,  and  afterward  became  a  social 
custom  to  limit  population.  Professor  Wilken  suggests  as  a 
further  reason  that  wars  had  tended  to  an  excess  of  females  over 
males.  An  Arab  poet  tells  of  a  niece  who  refused  to  leave  the 
husband  to  whom  she  had  been  assigned  after  capture.  Her 
uncle  was  so  enraged  that  he  buried  all  his  daughters  alive  and 
never  allowed  another  one  to  live.  Even  one  beautiful  girl 
who  had  been  saved  alive  by  her  mother  was  ruthlessly  placed 
in  a  grave  by  the  father  and  her  cries  stifled  with  earth.  This 
horrible  custom  however  was  not  usual.  We  are  told  of  one 
distinguished  Arab,  named  Saa-Saa,  who  tried  to  put  down 
the  practice  of  "digging  a  grave  by  the  side  of  the  bed  on 
which  daughters  were  born." 

Mohammed  improved  on  the  barbaric  method  and  dis- 
covered a  way  by  which  not  some  but  all  females  could  be 
buried  alive  without  being  murdered — namely,  the  veil.  Its 
origin  was  one  of  the  marriage  affairs  of  the  prophet  with  its 
appropriate  revelation  from  Allah.  The  veil  tuas  unknown  in 
Arabia  before  that  time.  It  was  Islam  that  forever  withdrew 
from  Oriental  society  the  bright,  refining,  elevating  influence 
of  women.  Keene  says  that  the  veil  "lies  at  the  root  of  all 
the  most  important  features  that  differentiate  progress  from 
stagnation."  The  harem-system  did  not  prevail  in  the  days 
of  idolatry.  Women  had  rights  and  were  respected.  In  two 
instances,  beside  that  of  Zenobia,  we  read  of  Arabian  queens 
ruling  over  their  tribes.  Freytag  in  his  Arabian  Proverbs  gives 
a  list  of  female  judges  who  exercised  their  office  in  the  "  time 
of  ignorance."  According  to  Noldeke,  the  Nabathean  inscrip- 
tions and  coins  prove  that  women  held  an  independent  and 
honorable  position  in  North  Arabia  long  before  Islam;  they 
constructed  expensive  family  graves,  owned  large  estates,  and 
were  independent  traders.  The  heathen  Arabs  jealously 
watched  over  their  women  as  their  most  valued  possession  and 


162  /iRABU,   THE  CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

defended  them  with  their  lives.  A  woman  was  never  given 
away  by  her  father  in  an  unequal  match  nor  against  her  con- 
sent. "If  you  cannot  find  an  equal  match,"  said  Ibn  Zohair 
to  the  Namir,  "the  best  marriage  for  them  is  the  grave." 
Professor  G.  A.  Wilken '  adduces  many  proofs  to  show  that 
women  had  a  right  in  every  case  to  choose  their  own  husbands 
and  cites  the  case  of  Khadijah  who  offered  her  hand  to  Mo- 
hammed. Even  captive  women  were  not  kept  in  slavery,  as  is 
evident  from  the  verses  of  Hatim  : 

"  They  did  not  give  us  Taites,  their  daughters  in  marriage ; 
But  we  wooed  them  against  their  will  with  our  swords. 
And  with  us  captivity  brought  no  abasement. 
They  neither  toiled  making  bread  nor  made  the  pot  boil ; 
But  we  mingled  them  with  our  women,  the  noblest, 
And  bare  us  fair  sons,  white  of  face." 

Polyandry  and  polygamy  were  both  practiced ;  the  right  of 
divorce  belonged  to  the  wife  as  well  as  to  the  husband  ;  tem- 
porary marriages  were  also  common.  As  was  natural  among  a 
nomad  race,  the  marriage  bond  was  quickly  made  and  easily 
dissolved.  But  this  was  not  the  case  among  the  Jews  and 
Christians  of  Yemen  and  Nejran.  Two  kinds  of  marriage 
were  in  vogue.  The  mota'a  was  a  purely  personal  contract 
between  a  man  and  woman  ;  no  witnesses  were  necessary  and 
the  woman  did  not  leave  her  home  or  come  under  the  authority 
of  her  husband  ;  even  the  children  belonged  to  the  wife.  This 
marriage,  so  frequently  described  in  Arabic  poetry,  was  not 
considered  illicit  but  was  openly  celebrated  in  verse  and 
brought  no  disgrace  on  the  woman.  In  the  other  kind  of 
marriage,  called  nikah,  the  woman  became  subject  to  her 
husband  by  capture  or  purchase.  In  the  latter  case  the  pur- 
chase-money was  paid  to  the  bride's  kin. 

The  position  of  women  before  Islam  is  thus  described  in 

»  Het  Matriarchaat  bij  de  onde  Arabieren  (1884),  and  Supplement  to 
the  same,  in  answer  to  critics,  (1S85).     The  Hague. 


"THE   TIME  OF  IGNORANCE"  163 

Smith's  "  Kinship  and  Marriage  in  Early  Arabia  "  :  "  It  is  very- 
remarkable  that  in  spite  of  Mohammed's  humane  ordinances 
the  place  of  woman  in  the  family  and  in  society  has  steadily 
declined  under  his  law.  In  ancient  Arabia  we  find  , 
many  proofs  that  women  moved  more  freely  and  asserted 
themselves  more  strongly  than  in  the  modern  East.  .  .  . 
The  Arabs  themselves  recognized  that  the  position  of  woman 
had  fallen  .  .  .  and  it  continued  still  to  fall  under  Islam, 
because  the  effect  of  Mohammed's  legislation  in  favor  of  women 
was  more  than  outweighed  by  the  establishment  of  marriages 
of  dominion  as  the  one  legitimate  type,  and  by  the  gradual 
loosening  of  the  principle  that  married  women  could  count  on 
their  own  kin  to  stand  by  them  against  their  husbands."  ' 

In  "the  time  of  ignorance"  writing  was  well  known  and 
poetry  flourished.  Three  accomplishments  were  coveted — elo- 
quence, horsemanship  and  liberal  hospitality.  Orators  were  in 
demand,  and  to  maintain  the  standard  and  reward  excellence 
there  were  large  assemblies  as  at  Okatz.  These  lasted  a  whole 
month  and  the  tribes  came  long  journeys  to  hear  the  orators 
and  poets  as  well  as  to  engage  in  trade.  The  learning  of  the 
Arabs  was  chiefly  confined  to  tribal  history,  astrology  and  the 
interpretation  of  dreams ;  in  these  they  made  considerable 
progress. 

According  to  Moslem  tradition  the  science  of  writing  was 
not  known  in  Mecca  until  introduced  by  Harb,  Father  of  Abu 
Scofian,  the  great  opponent  of  Mohammed,  about  a.  d.  560. 
But  this  is  evidently  an  error,  for  close  intercourse  existed  long 
before  this  between  Mecca  and  Sana  the  capital  of  Yemen 
where  writing  was  well  known  ;  and  in  another  tradition  Abd  el 
Muttahb  is  said  to  have  written  to  Medina  for  help  in  his  younger 
days,  i.  <?.,  about  520  a.  d.  Both  Jews  and  Christians  also 
dwelt  in  the  vicinity  of  Mecca  for  two  hundred  years  before 
the  Hegira  and  used  some  form  of  writing.  For  writing  mate- 
rials they  had  abundance  of  reeds  and  palm-leaves  as  well  as 
'  Smith's  "  Kinship  and  Marriage  in  Early  Arabia,"  pp.  100,  104. 


164  ARABU,    THE   CRADLE   OF  ISLAM 

the  flat,  smooth  shoulder-bones  of  sheep.  The  seven  poems 
are  said  to  have  been  written  in  gold  on  Egyptian  silk  and 
suspended  in  the  Kaaba. 

In  the  earlier  part  of  his  mission  Mohammed  despised  the 
poets  for  the  good  reason  that  some,  among  them  a  poetess, 
wrote  satirical  verses  about  him.  The  Koran  says  "  those  who 
go  astray  follow  the  poets."  (Surah  26  :  224)  and  a  more 
vigorous  though  less  elegant  denouncement  is  recorded  in  the 
traditions  (Mishkat  Bk.  22,  ch.  10):  "A  belly  full  of  puru- 
lent matter  is  better  than  a  belly  full  of  poetry."  When  two 
of  the  heathen  poets,  Labid  and  Hassan  embraced  Islam,  the 
prophet  became  more  lenient,  and  is  reported  to  have  said 
"  poetry  is  a  kind  of  composition  which  if  it  is  good,  it  is  good, 
and  if  it  is  bad,  it  is  bad  !  " 

Concerning  the  religion  of  the  heathen  Arabs  the  Moham- 
medan writer  Ash-Shahristani  says  :  "  The  Arabs  of  pre-islamic 
times  may,  with  reference  to  religion  be  divided  into  various 
classes.  Some  of  them  denied  the  Creator,  the  resurrection 
and  men's  return  to  God,  and  asserted  that  Nature  possesses  in 
itself  the  power  of  bestowing  life,  but  that  Time  destroys. 
Others  believed  in  a  Creator  and  a  creation  produced  by  Him 
out  of  nothing  but  yet  denied  the  resurrection.  Others  be- 
lieved in  a  Creator  and  a  creation  but  denied  God's  prophets 
and  worshipped  false  gods  concerning  whom  they  believed  that 
in  the  next  world  they  would  become  mediators  between  them- 
selves and  God.  For  these  deities  they  undertook  pilgrimages, 
they  brought  offerings  to  them,  offered  them  sacrifices  and  ap- 
proached them  with  rites  and  ceremonies.  Some  things  they 
held  to  be  Divinely  permitted,  others  to  be  prohibited.  This 
was  the  religion  of  the  majority  of  the  Arabs."  This  is  re- 
markable evidence  for  a  Mohammedan  who  would  naturally  be 
inclined  to  take  an  unfavorable  view.  But  his  absolute  silence 
regarding  the  Jews  and  Christians  of  Arabia  is  suggestive. 

When  the  Arabian  tribes  lost  their  earliest  monotheism  (the 
religion  of  Job  and   their  patriarchs)  they  first  of  all  adopted 


"THE   TIME  OF  IGNORANCE"  165 

Sabeanism  or  the  worship  of  the  hosts  of  heaven.  A  proof  of 
this  is  their  ancient  practice  of  making  circuits  around  the 
shrines  of  their  gods  as  well  as  their  skill  in  astrology.  Very 
soon  however  the  star-worship  became  greatly  corrupted  and 
other  deities,  superstitions  and  practices  were  introduced.  An- 
cient Arabia  was  a  refuge  for  all  sorts  of  religious-fugitives  ;  and 
each  band  added  something  to  the  national  stock  of  religious 
ideas.  The  Zoroastrians  came  to  East  Arabia ;  the  Jews  set- 
tled at  Kheibar,  Medina,  and  in  Yemen  ;  Christians  of  many 
sects  lived  in  the  north  and  in  the  highlands  of  Yemen.  For 
all  pagan  Arabia  Mecca  was  the  centre  many  centuries  before 
Mohammed.  Here  stood  the  Kaaba,  the  Arabian  Pantheon, 
with  its  three  hundred  and  sixty  idols,  one  for  each  day  in  the 
year.  Here  the  tribes  of  Hejaz  met  in  annual  pilgrimage  to 
rub  themselves  on  the  Black  Stone,  to  circumambulate  the  Beit 
Allah  or  Bethel  of  their  creed  and  to  hang  portions  of  their 
garments  on  the  sacred  trees.  At  Nejran  a  sacred  date-palm 
was  the  centre  of  pilgrimage.  Everywhere  in  Arabia  there 
were  sacred  stones  or  stone-heaps  where  the  Arab  devotees 
congregated  to  obtain  special  blessings.  The  belief  in  jinn  or 
genii  was  well-nigh  universal,  but  there  was  a  distinction  be- 
tween them  and  gods.  The  gods  have  individuality  while  the 
jinn  have  not ;  the  gods  are  worshipped,  the  jinn  are  only 
feared  ;  the  god  has  one  form  ;  the  jinn  appear  in  many.  All 
that  the  Moslem  world  believes  in  regard  to  jinn  is  wholly  bor- 
rowed from  Arabian  heathenism  and  those  who  have  read  the 
Arabian  Nights  know  what  a  large  place  they  hold  in  the  every- 
day life  of  Moslems. 

The  Arabs  were  always  superstitious,  and  legends  of  all  sorts 
cluster  around  every  weird  desert  rock,  gnarled  tree  or  inter- 
mittent fountain  in  Arabia.  The  early  Arabs  therefore  marked 
off  such  sacred  territory  by  pillars  or  cairns  and  considered 
many  things  such  as  shedding  of  blood,  cutting  of  trees,  killing 
game,  etc.,  forbidden  within  the  enclosure.  This  is  the  origin 
of  the  Harainain  or  sacred  territory  around  Mecca  and  Medina. 


166  /IRABU,   THE   CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

Sacrifices  were  common,  but  not  by  fire.  The  blood  of  the 
offering  was  smeared  over  the  rude  stone  altars  and  the  flesh 
was  eaten  by  the  worshipper.  First  fruits  were  given  to  the 
gods  and  libations  were  poured  out ;  a  hair-offering  formed  a 
part  of  the  ancient  pilgrimage ;  this  also  is  imitated  to-day. 

W.  Robertson  Smith  tries  to  prove  that  totemism  was  the 
earliest  form  of  Arabian  idolatry  and  that  each  tribe  had  its 
sacred  animal.  The  strongest  argument  for  this  is  the  un- 
doubted fact  that  many  of  the  tribal  names  were  taken  from 
animals  and  that  certain  animals  were  regarded  as  sacred  in 
parts  of  Arabia.  The  theory  is  too  far-reaching  to  be  adopted 
at  haphazard  and  the  author's  ideas  of  the  significance  of 
animal  sacrifice  are  not  in  accord  with  the  teaching  of  Scrip- 
ture. It  is  however  interesting  to  know  that  the  same  author- 
ity thinks  the  Arabian  tribal  marks  or  wasms  were  originally 
totem-marks  and  must  have  been  tattooed  on  the  body  even  as 
they  are  now  used  to  mark  property.  The  washm  of  the  idol- 
atrous Arabs  seems  related  to  their  wasms  and  was  a  kind  of 
tattooing  of  the  hands,  arms  and  gums.  It  was  forbidden  by 
Mohammed  but  is  still  widely  prevalent  in  North  Arabia  among 
the  Bedouin  women. 

Covenants  of  blood  and  of  salt  are  also  very  ancient  Semitic 
institutions  and  prevailed  all  over  Arabia.  The  form  of  the 
oath  was  various.  At  Mecca  the  parties  dipped  their  hands  in 
a  pan  of  blood  and  tasted  the  contents ;  in  other  places  they 
opened  a  vein  and  mixed  their  fresh  blood ;  again  they  would 
each  draw  the  others'  blood  and  smear  it  on  seven  stones  set  up 
in  the  midst.  The  later  Arabs  substituted  the  blood  of  a  sheep 
or  of  a  camel  for  human  blood. 

The  principal  idols  of  Arabia  were  the  following ;  ten  of 
them  are  mentioned  by  name  in  the  Koran. 

Hubal  was  in  the  form  of  a  man  and  came  from  Syria ;  he  was  the  god 
of  rain  and  had  a  high  place  of  honor. 
Wadd  was  the  god  of  the  firmament. 
Stiwah,  in  the  form  of  a  woman,  was  said  to  be  from  antediluvian  times. 


"THE   TIME  OF  IGNORANCE"  167 

Yaghuth  had  the  shape  of  a  lion. 

Ya'ook  was  in  the  form  of  a  horse,  and  was  worshipped  in  Yemen. 
Bronze  images  of  this  idol  are  found  in  ancient  tombs. 

Nasr  was  the  eagle-god. 

El  Uzza,  identified  by  some  scholars  with  Venus,  was  worshipped  at 
times  under  the  form  of  an  acacia  tree. 

Allat  was  the  chief  idol  of  the  tribe  of  Thakif  at  Taif  who  tried  to 
compromise  with  Mohammed  to  accept  Islam  if  he  would  not  destroy 
their  god  for  three  years.     The  name  appears  to  be  the  feminine  of  Allah. 

Manat  was  a  huge  stone  worshipped  as  an  altar  by  several  tribes. 

Duwar  was  the  virgin's  idol  and  young  women  used  to  go  around  it  in 
procession ;  hence  its  name. 

Isaf  and  Naila  stood  near  Mecca  on  the  hills  of  Safa  and  Mirwa ;  the 
visitation  of  these  popular  shrines  is  now  a  part  of  the  Moslem  pilgrimage. 

Habhab  was  a  large  stone  on  which  camels  were  slaughtered. 

Beside  these  there  were  numerous  other  gods  whose  names 
have  been  utterly  lost  and  yet  who  each  had  a  place  in  the 
Pantheon  at  Mecca.  Above  all  these  was  the  supreme  deity 
whom  they  called  6'  dzo<i,  the  God,  or  Allah.  This  name 
occurs  several  times  in  the  ancient  pre-islamic  poems  and  proves 
that  the  Arabs  knew  the  one  true  God  by  name  even  in  the 
"time  of  ignorance."  To  Him  they  also  made  offerings 
though  not  of  the  first  and  best ;  in  His  name  covenants  were 
sealed  and  the  holiest  oaths  were  sworn.  Enemy  of  Allah  was 
the  strongest  term  of  opprobrium  among  the  Arabs  then  as  it  is 
to-day.  Wellhausen  says,  "  In  worship  Allah  had  the  last  place, 
those  gods  being  preferred  who  represented  the  interests  of  a 
particular  circle  and  fulfilled  the  private  desires  of  their  wor- 
shippers. Neither  the  fear  of  Allah  nor  their  reverence  for  the 
gods  had  much  influence.  The  chief  practical  consequence  of 
the  great  feasts  was  the  observance  of  a  truce  in  the  holy 
months ;  and  this  in  time  had  become  mainly  an  affair  of  pure 
practical  convenience.  In  general  the  disposition  of  the  heathen 
Arabs,  if  it  is  at  all  truly  reflected  in  their  poetry,  was  profane 
in  an  unusual  degree.  The  ancient  inhabitants  of  Mecca  prac- 
ticed piety  essentially  as  a  trade,  just  as  they  do  now ;  their 


168  /iRABU,   THE   CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

trade  depended  on  the  feast  and  its  fair  on  the  inviolability  of 
the  Haram  and  on  the  truce  of  the  holy  months." 

There  is  no  doubt  that  at  the  time  of  Mohammed's  appear- 
ance the  old  national  idolatry  had  degenerated.  Many  of  the 
idols  had  no  believers  or  worshippers.  Sabeanism  had  also 
disappeared  except  in  the  north  of  Arabia ;  although  it  always 
left  its  influence  which  is  evident  not  only  in  the  Koran  but  in 
the  superstitious  practices  of  the  modern  Bedouins.  Gross 
fetishism  was  the  creed  of  many.  One  of  Mohammed's  con- 
temporaries said,  "When  they  found  a  fine  stone  they  adored 
it,  or,  failing  that,  milked  a  camel  over  a  heap  of  sand  and 
worshipped  that."  The  better  classes  at  Mecca  and  Medina 
had  ceased  to  believe  anything  at  all.  The  forms  of  religion 
"were  kept  up  rather  for  political  and  commercial  reasons  than 
as  a  matter  of  faith  or  conviction. ' '  ^ 

Add  to  all  this  the  silent  but  strong  influence  of  the  Jews 
and  Christians  who  were  in  constant  contact  with  these  idolaters 
and  we  have  the  explanation  of  the  Hanifs.  These  Hanifs 
were  a  small  number  of  Arabs  who  worshipped  only  Allah,  re- 
jected polytheism,  sought  freedom  from  sin  and  resignation  to 
God's  will.  There  were  Hanifs  at  Taif,  Mecca  and  Medina. 
They  were  in  fact  seekers  of  truth,  weary  of  the  old  idolatry 
and  the  prevalent  hollow  hypocrisy  of  the  Arabs.  The  earliest 
Hanifs  of  whom  we  hear,  were  Waraka,  the  cousin  of  the 
prophet  Mohammed,  and  Zeid  bin  Amr,  surnamed  the  Inquirer. 
Mohammed  at  first  also  adopted  this  title  of  Hanif  to  express 
the  faith  of  Abraham  but  soon  after  changed  it  to  Moslem. 

It  is  only  a  step  from  Hanifism  to  Islam.  Primary  mono- 
theism, Sabeanism,  idolatry,  fetishism,  Hanifism,  and  then  the 
prophet  with  the  sword  to  bring  everything  back  to  monotheism 
— monotheism,  as  modified  by  his  own  needs  and  character  and 
compromises.  The  time  of  ignorance  was  a  time  of  chaos. 
Everything  was  ready  for  one  who  could  take  in  the  whole  sit- 
uation, social,  political  and  religious  and  form  a  cosmos.  That 
man  was  Mohammed. 

'  Palmer's  Introduction  to  the  Koran,  p.  xv. 


XVII 

ISLAM   IN   ITS   CRADLE — THE   MOSLEM'S   GOD* 

'<  Islam  was  born  in  the  desert,  with  Arab  Sabeanism  for  its  mother  and 
Judaism  for  its  father;  its  foster-nurse  was  Eastern  Christianity." — Edivin 
Arnold. 

"  A  Prophet  without  miracles  ;  a  faith  without  mysteries ;  and  a  moral- 
ity without  love;  which  has  encouraged  a  thirst  for  blood,  and  which  be- 
gan and  ended  in  the  most  unbounded  sensuality." — ScJilegeVs  Philosophy 
of  History. 

"  As  we  conceive  God,  we  conceive  the  universe ;  a  being  incapable  of 
loving  is  incapable  of  being  loved." — Principal  Fairbairn. 

T  IBRARIES  have  been  written,  not  only  in  Arabic  and 
-*-^  Persian,  but  in  all  the  languages  of  Europe,  on  the  ori- 
gin, character  and  history  of  Islam,  the  Koran  and  Mohammed. 
Views  differ  '*as  far  as  the  east  is  from  the  west"  and  as  far 
as  Bosworth  Smith  is  from  Prideaux.  The  earlier  European 
writers  did  not  hesitate  to  call  Mohammed  a  false  prophet  and 
his  system  a  clever  imposture ;  some  went  further  and  attrib- 
uted even  satanic  agency  to  the  success  of  Islam  and  to  the 
words  of  the  prophet.  Carlyle,  in  his  "Heroes  and  Hero- 
worship,"  set  the  pendulum  swinging  to  the  other  side  so  far 
that  his  chapter  on  the  Hero-prophet  is  published  as  a  leaflet 
by  the  Mohammedan  Missionary  Society  of  Lahore.  So  little 
did  Carlyle  understand  the  true  nature  of  Islam  that  he  calls  it 
"a  kind  of  Christianity."  What  Carlyle  said  was  only  the 
beginning  of  a  series  of  apologies  and  panegyrics  which  ap- 
peared soon  after  and  placed  Mohammed  not  only  on  the  ped- 

1  In  the  order  of  time,  and  to  fully  grasp  the  extent  of  Christian  ideas 
prevalent  in  Arabia  the  chapter  on  Early  Christianity  in  Arabia  should 
precede  this  chapter  on  Islam ;  but  logically  that  chapter  belongs  with  the 
other  chapters  on  mission-work.  The  same  is  true,  in  a  measure,  of  the 
chapter  on  the  Sabeans. 

169 


170  ARABIA,   THE  CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

estal  of  a  great  reformer  but  "  a  very  prophet  of  God,"  making 
Islam  almost  the  ideal  religion.  Syeed  Ameer  Ali  succeeds  in 
his  biography  in  eliminating  every  sensual,  harsh  and  ignorant 
trait  from  the  character  of  the  noted  Meccan  ;  and  the  recent 
valuable  book  of  T.  W.  Arnold,  professor  in  Aligarh  College, 
India,  attempts  to  prove  most  elaborately  that  Mohammedanism 
was  propagated  without  the  sword. 

In  contrast  to  this  read  what  Hugh  Broughton  quaintly  wrote 
in  1662  :  "  Now  consider  this  Moamed  or  Machumed,  whom 
God  gave  up  to  a  blind  mind,  an  Ishmaelite,  being  a  poor  man 
till  he  married  a  widow ;  wealthy  then  and  of  high  counte- 
nance, having  the  falling  sickness  and  being  tormented  by  the 
devil,  whereby  the  widow  was  sorry  that  she  matched  with 
him.  He  persuaded  her  by  himself  and  others  that  his  fits 
were  but  a  trance  wherein  he  talked  with  the  angel  Gabriel.  So 
in  time  the  impostor  was  reputed  a  prophet  of  God  and  from 
Judaism,  Arius,  Nestorius  and  his  own  brain  he  frameth  a 
doctrine."  In  our  day,  the  critical  labors  of  scholars  like 
Sprenger,  Weil,  Muir,  Koelle  and  others  have  given  us  a 
more  correct  idea  of  Mohammed's  life  and  character.  The 
pendulum  is  still  swinging  but  will  come  to  rest  between  the 
two  extremes. 

We  have  not  space  to  give  the  story  of  Mohammed's  life  or 
of  the  religion  which  he  founded.  An  analysis  of  the  religion 
has  been  attempted  by  means  of  two  diagrams ;  one  showing 
its  development  from  its  creed  and  the  other  the  philosophy  of 
its  origin  from  outside  sources.^  The  result  of  a  century  of 
critical  study  by  European  and  American  scholars  of  every 
school  of  thought  has  certainly  established  the  fact  that  Islam 
is  a  composite  religion.  It  is  not  an  invention  but  a  concoc- 
tion ;  there  is  nothing  novel  about  it  except  the  genius  of  Mo- 
hammed in  mixing  t)ld  ingredients  into  a  new  panacea  for 
human  ills  and  forcing  it  down  by  means  of  the  sword.    These 

» See  pp.  177,  178  for  tables  showing  the  Elements  in  Islam  and  the 
source  from  which  they  were  derived. 


ISLAM  IN  ITS  CRADLE— THE  MOSLEM'S  GOD         ITI 

heterogeneous  elements  of  Islam  were  gathered  in  Arabia  at  a 
time  when  many  religions  had  penetrated  the  peninsula,  and 
the  Kaaba  was  a  Pantheon.  Unless  one  has  a  knowledge  of  these 
elements  of  "the  time  of  ignorance,"  Islam  is  a  problem. 
Knowing,  however,  these  heathen.  Christian  and  Jewish  factors, 
Islam  is  seen  to  be  a  perfectly  natural  and  understandable  de- 
velopment. Its  heathen  elements  remain,  to  this  day,  perfectly 
recognizable  in  spite  of  thirteen  centuries  of  explanation  by  the 
Moslem  authorities.  It  is  to  the  Jewish  Rabbi  Geiger  that  we 
owe  our  first  knowledge  of  the  extent  to  which  Islam  is  indebted 
to  the  Jews  and  the  Talmud.  Rev.  W.  St.  Clair  Tisdall  has 
recently  shown  how  Mohammed  borrowed  even  from  the 
Zoroastrians  and  Sabeans,  while  as  to  the  amount  of  Christian 
teaching  in  Islam,  the  Koran  and  its  commentators  are  evidence. 

There  is  a  remarkable  verse  in  the  twenty-second  chapter  of 
the  Koran,  in  which  Mohammed  seems  to  enumerate  all  the 
sources  that  were  accessible  to  him  in  forming  his  new  religion  ; 
and  at  that  time  he  seems  to  have  been  in  doubt  as  to  which 
was  the  most  trustworthy  source.  The  verse  reads  as  follows  : 
"  T/iey  zvJio  believe  and  the  Jews  and  the  Sabeans  and  the 
Christians  and  the  Magiaiis  (Zoroastrians)  and  those  who  join 
other  gods  to  God,  verily  God  shall  decide  between  them  on  the 
day  of  Resurrection. ' ' 

The  God  of  Islam.  Gibbon  characterizes  the  first  part  of 
the  Moslem's  creed  as  "an  eternal  truth  " — ("there  is  no  god 
but  God"};  but  very  much  depends  on  the  character  of  the 
God,  who  is  affirmed  to  displace  all  other  gods.  If  Allah's  at- 
tributes are  unworthy  of  deity  then  even  the  first  clause  of  the 
briefest  of  all  creeds,  is  false.  There  has  been  a  strange  neglect 
to  study  the  Moslem  idea  of  God  and  nearly  all  writers  take  for 
granted  that  the  God  of  the  Koran  is  the  same  being  and  has 
like  attributes  as  Jehovah  or  the  Godhead  of  the  New  Testament. 
Nothing  could  be  further  from  the  truth. 

First  of  all  the  Mohammedan  conception  of  Allah  is  purely 
negative.     God  is  unique  and  has  no  relations  to  any  creature 


172  ARABIA,   THE  CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

that  partake  of  resemblance.     He  cannot  be  defined  in  terms 
other  than  negative.     As  the  popular  song  has  it, 

"  Kullu  ma  yukhtaru  fi  balik 
Fa  rabbuna  mukhalifun  'an  thalik — "  ' 

Absolute  sovereignty  and  ruthless  omnipotence  are  his  chief 
attributes  while  his  character  is  impersonal — that  of  a  monad. 
Among  the  ninety-nine  beautiful  names  of  God,  which  Edwin 
Arnold  has  used  in  his  poem  "Pearls  of  the  Faith,"  the  ideas 
of  fatherhood,  love,  impartial  justice  and  unselfishness  are  ab- 
sent. The  Christian  truth  "God  is  love  "is  to  the  learned, 
blasphemy  and  to  the  ignorant  an  enigma.  Palgrave,  who  cer- 
tainly was  not  biased  against  the  religion  of  Arabia  and  who 
lived  with  the  Arabs  for  long  months,  calls  the  theology  of  Islam 
"  the  pantheism  of  force."  No  one  has  ever  given  a  better  ac- 
count of  Allah,  a  more  faithful  portrait  of  Mohammed's  con- 
ception of  deity  than  Palgrave.  Every  word  of  his  description 
tallies  with  statements  which  one  can  hear  daily  from  pious 
Moslems.  Yet  no  one  who  reads  what  we  quote  in  all  its  full- 
ness will  recognize  here  the  God  whom  David  addresses  in  the 
Psalms  or  who  became  incarnate  at  Bethlehem  and  suffered  on 
Calvary.     This  is  Palgrave' s  statement : 

"  There  is  no  god  but  God — are  words  simply  tantamount  in 
English  to  the  negation  of  any  deity  save  one  alone ;  and  thus 
much  they  certainly  mean  in  Arabic,  but  they  imply  much 
more  also.  Their  full  sense  is,  not  only  to  deny  absolutely  and 
unreservedly  all  plurality,  whether  of  nature  or  of  person,  in 
the  Supreme  Being,  not  only  to  establish  the  unity  of  the  Un- 
begetting  and  Unbegot,  in  all  its  simple  and  uncommunicable 
Oneness,  but  besides  this  the  words,  in  Arabic  and  among 
Arabs,  imply  that  this  one  Supreme  Being  is  also  the  only 
Agent,  the  only  Force,  the  only  Act  existing  throughout  the 
universe,  and  leave  to  all  beings  else,  matter  or  spirit,  instinct 
or   intelligence,  physical  or  moral,  nothing  but  pure,  uncon- 

>  Whatever  idea  your  mind  can  conceive,  God  is  the  reverse  of  it. 


ISLAM  IN  ITS  CRADLE— THE  MOSLEM'S  COD        173 

ditional  passiveness,  alike  in  movement  or  in  quiescence,  in  ac- 
tion or  in  capacity.  The  sole  power,  the  sole  motor,  move- 
ment, energy,  and  deed  is  God ;  the  rest  is  downright  inertia 
and  mere  instrumentality,  from  the  highest  archangel  down  to 
the  simplest  atom  of  creation.  Hence,  in  this  one  sentence, 
*  La  Ilah  ilia  Allah,'  is  summed  up  a  system  which,  for  want 
of  a  better  name,  I  may  be  permitted  to  call  the  Pantheism  of 
Force,  or  of  Act,  thus  exclusively  assigned  to  God,  who  absorbs 
it  all,  exercises  it  all,  and  to  whom  alone  it  can  be  ascribed, 
whether  for  preserving  or  for  destroying,  for  relative  evil  or  for 
equally  relative  good.  I  say  'relative,'  because  it  is  clear  that 
in  such  a  theology  no  place  is  left  for  absolute  good  or  evil, 
reason  or  extravagance ;  all  is  abridged  in  the  autocratic  will 
of  the  one  great  Agent:  'sic  volo,  sic  jubeo,  stet  pro  ratione 
voluntas ' ;  or,  more  significantly  still,  in  Arabic,  '  Kema 
yesha'o,'  'as  he  wills  it,'  to  quote  the  constantly  recurring  ex- 
pression of  the  Koran. 

"Thus  immeasurably  and  eternally  exalted  above,  and  dis- 
similar from,  all  creatures,  which  lie  levelled  before  him  on  one 
common  plane  of  instrumentality  and  inertness,  God  is  one  in 
the  totality  of  omnipotent  and  omnipresent  action,  which 
acknowledges  no  rule,  standard,  or  limit  save  his  own  sole  and 
absolute  will.  He  communicates  nothing  to  his  creatures,  for 
their  seeming  power  and  act  ever  remain  his  alone,  and  in  return 
he  receives  nothing  from  them  ;  for  whatever  they  may  be,  that 
they  are  in  him,  by  him,  and  from  him  only.  And  secondly, 
no  superiority,  no  distinction,  no  preeminence,  can  be  lawfully 
claimed  by  one  creature  over  its  fellow,  in  the  utter  equalization 
of  their  unexceptional  servitude  and  abasement ;  all  are  alike 
tools  of  the  one  solitary  Force  which  employs  them  to  crush  or  to 
benefit,  to  truth  or  to  error,  to  honor  or  shame,  to  happiness,  or 
misery,  quite  independentlyof  their  individual  fitness,  deserts,  or 
advantage,  and  simply  because  he  wills  it,  and  as  he  wills  it. 

"  One  might  at  first  think  that  this  tremendous  autocrat,  this 
uncontrolled  and  unsympathizing  power,  would  be  far  above 


174  /iRABlA,  THE  CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

anything  like  passions,  desires  or  inclinations.  Yet  such  is  not 
the  case,  for  he  has  with  respect  to  his  creatures  one  main  feel- 
ing and  source  of  action,  namely,  jealousy  of  them  lest  they 
should  perchance  attribute  to  themselves  something  of  what  is 
his  alone,  and  thus  encroach  on  his  all-engrossing  kingdom. 
Hence  he  is  ever  more  prone  to  punish  than  to  reward,  to  in- 
flict than  to  bestow  pleasure,  to  ruin  than  to  build. 

"It  is  his  singular  satisfaction  to  let  created  beings  contin- 
ually feel  that  they  are  nothing  else  than  his  slaves,  his  tools, 
and  contemptible  tools  also,  that  thus  they  may  the  better  ac- 
knowledge his  superiority,  and  know  his  power  to  be  above 
their  power,  his  cunning  above  their  cunning,  his  will  above 
their  will,  his  pride  above  their  pride ;  or  rather,  that  there  is 
no  power,  cunning,  will,  or  pride  save  his  own. 

' '  But  he  himself,  sterile  in  his  inaccessible  height,  neither 
loving  nor  enjoying  aught  save  his  own  and  self-measured  decree, 
without  son,  companion,  or  counsellor,  is  no  less  barren  for 
himself  than  for  his  creatures,  and  his  own  barrenness  and 
lone  egoism  in  himself  as  the  cause  and  rule  of  his  indifferent 
and  unregarding  despotism  around.  The  first  note  is  the  key 
of  the  whole  tune,  and  the  primal  idea  of  God  runs  through 
and  modifies  the  whole  system  and  creed  that  centres  in  him. 

"That  the  notion  here  given  of  the  Deity,  monstrous  and 
blasphemous  as  it  may  appear,  is  exactly  and  literally  that 
which  the  Koran  conveys,  or  intends  to  convey,  I  at  present 
take  for  granted.  But  that  it  indeed  is  so,  no  one  who  has 
attentively  perused  and  thought  over  the  Arabic  text  (for  mere 
cursory  reading,  especially  in  a  translation,  will  not  suffice)  can 
hesitate  to  allow.  In  fact,  every  phrase  of  the  preceding  sen- 
tences, every  touch  in  this  odious  portrait  has  been  taken,  to 
the  best  of  my  ability,  word  for  word,  or  at  least  meaning  for 
meaning  from  the  "Book"  the  truest  mirror  of  the  mind  and 
scope  of  its  writer.  And  that  such  was  in  reality  Mahomet's 
mind  and  idea  is  fully  confirmed  by  the  witness-tongue  of  con- 
ternporary  tradition." 


ISLAM  IN  ITS  CRADLE— THE  MOSLEM'S  GOD         175 

The  Koran  shows  that  Mohammed  had  in  a  measure  a  cor- 
rect knowledge  of  the  physical  attributes  of  God  but  an  ab- 
solutely false  conception  of  his  moral  attributes.  This  was 
perfecdy  natural  because  Mohammed  had  no  idea  of  the  nature 
of  sin — moral  evil — or  of  holiness — moral  perfection. 

The  Imam  El  Ghazzali  a  famous  scholastic  divine  of  the 
Moslems  says  of  God  :  "  He  is  not  a  body  endued  with  form 
nor  a  substance  circumscribed  with  limits  or  determined  by 
measure.  Neither  does  He  resemble  bodies,  as  they  are  capa- 
ble of  being  measured  or  divided.  Neither  is  He  a  substance 
nor  do  substances  exist  in  Him ;  neither  is  He  an  accident  nor 
do  accidents  exist  in  Him.  Neither  is  He  like  to  anything 
that  exists ;  neither  is  anything  like  to  Him ;  nor  is  He  deter- 
minate in  quantity  nor  comprehended  by  bounds  nor  circum- 
scribed by  the  differences  of  situation  nor  contained  in  the 
heavens.  .  .  .  His  nearness  is  not  like  the  nearness  of 
bodies  nor  is  His  essence  like  the  essence  of  bodies.  Neither 
doth  He  exist  in  anything  ;  neither  does  anything  exist  in  Him." 
God's  will  is  absolute  and  alone ;  the  predestination  of  every- 
thing and  everybody  to  good  or  ill  according  to  the  caprice  of 
sovereignty.  For  there  is  no  Fatherhood  and  no  purpose  of 
redemption  to  soften  the  doctrine  of  the  decrees.  Hell  must 
be  filled  and  so  Allah  creates  infidels.  The  statements  of  the 
Koran  on  this  doctrine  are  coarse  and  of  tradition,  blasphe- 
mous. Islam  reduces  God  to  the  category  of  the  will ;  He  is 
a  despot,  an  Oriental  despot,  and  as  the  moral-\dj\\  is  not  em- 
phasized He  is  not  bound  by  any  standard  of  justice.  Wor- 
ship of  the  creature  is  heinous  to  the  Moslem  mind,  and  yet 
Allah  punished  Satan  for  not  being  willing  to  worship  Adam. 
(Koran  ii.  28-31.)  Allah  is  merciful  in  winking  at  the  sins  of 
the  prophet  but  is  the  avenger  of  all  unbelievers  in  him. 

"A  God-machine,  a  unit-cause 
Vast,  inaccessible 
Who  doles  out  mercy,  breaks  His  laws 
And  compromises  ill. 


176  ARABIA,   THE  CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

"  A  God  whose  law  is  changeless  fate, — 
"Who  grants  each  prophet-wish  — 
For  prayer  and  fasting  opes  heaven's  gate, 
And  pardons  for  backsheesh." 

This  is  nof  "  the  only  True  God  "  whom  we  know  through 
Jesus  Christ  and  so  knowing  have  life-eternal.  "No  man 
knoweth  the  Father  but  the  Son  and  he  to  whom  the  Son 
revealeth  Him.  He  who  denies  the  incarnation  remains 
ignorant  of  God's  true  character.  As  Fairbairn  says,  "the 
love  which  the  Godhead  makes  immanent  and  essential  to 
God,  gives  God  an  altogether  new  meaning  and  actuality  for 
religion ;  while  thought  is  not  forced  to  conceive  Monotheism 
as  the  apotheosis  of  an  Almighty  will  or  an  impersonal  ideal  of 
the  pure  reason."  Islam  knows  no  Godhead,  and  Allah  is  not 
love. 


"There  is  no  god  but  Allah  and  Mohammed  is  his  apostle." 


The  Doctrine  of  Revelation  : 

(Positive.) 
"Mohammed  is  the  apostle  of  God." 
[The  sole  channel  of  revelation  and  abrogates 
former  revelations.] 


The  Doctrine  of  God 

(Negative.) 
"  There  is  no  god  but  God." 
[Pantheism  of  Force] 


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178 


XVIII 

THE   PROPHET   AND   HIS    BOOK 

TN  570  A.  D.  Abdullah  the  son  of  Abd  el  Muttalib  a  Mecca 
merchant  went  on  a  trading  trip  from  Mecca  to  Medina 
and  died  there ;  the  same  year  his  wife,  Amina,  gave  birth  to  a 
boy,  named  Mohammed,  at  Mecca.  One  hundred  years  later 
the  name  of  this  Arab  lad,  joined  to  that  of  the  Almighty,  was 
called  out  from  ten  thousand  mosques  five  times  daily,  from 
Muscat  to  Morocco,  and  his  new  religion  was  sweeping  every- 
thing before  it  in  three  continents. 

What  is  the  explanation  of  this  marvel  of  history  ?  Many 
theories  have  been  laid  down  and  the  true  explanation  is  prob- 
ably the  sum  of  all  of  them.  The  weakness  of  Oriental  Chris- 
tianity and  the  corrupt  state  of  the  church ;  the  condition  of 
the  Roman  and  Persian  empires  ;  the  character  of  the  new  re- 
ligion ;  the  power  of  the  sword  and  fanaticism ;  the  genius  of 
Mohammed ;  the  partial  truth  of  his  teaching ;  the  genius  of 
Mohammed's  successors ;  the  hope  of  plunder  and  love  of  con- 
quest ; — such  are  some  of  the  causes  given  for  the  early  and 
rapid  success  of  Islam. 

Mohammed  was  a  prophet  without  miracles  but  not  without 
genius.  Whatever  we  may  deny  him  we  can  never  deny  that 
he  was  a  great  man  with  great  talents.  But  he  was  not  a  self- 
made  man.  His  environment  accounts  in  a  large  measure  for 
his  might  and  for  his  method  in  becoming  a  religious  leader. 
There  was  first  of  all  the  political  factor.  "The  year  of  the 
elephant  "  had  seen  the  defeat  of  the  Christian  hosts  of  Yemen 
who  came  to  attack  the  Kaaba.  This  victory  was  to  the  young 
and  ardent  mind  of  Mohammed  prophetic  of  the  political 
future  of  Mecca  and  no  doubt  his  ambition  assigned  himself 

179 


180  ARABIA,    THE   CRADLE   OF  ISLAM 

the  chief  place  in  the  coming  conflict  of  Arabia  against  the 
Roman  and  Persian  oppressors. 

Next  came  the  rehgious  factor.  The  times  were  ripe  for  re- 
ligious leadership  and  Mecca  was  already  the  centre  of  a  new 
movement.  The  Hanifs  had  rejected  the  old  idolatry  and  en- 
tertained the  hope  that  a  prophet  would  arise  from  among 
them.^  There  was  material  of  all  sorts  at  hand  to  furnish  the 
platform  of  a  new  faith ;  it  only  required  the  builder's  eye  to 
call  cosmos  out  of  chaos.  To  succeed  in  doing  this  it  would  be 
necessary  to  reject  material  also  ;  a  comprehensive  religion  and 
a  compromising  religion,  so  as  to  suit  Jew  and  Christian  and 
idolater  alike. 

Then  there  was  the  family  factor,  or,  in  other  words,  the 
aristocratic  standing  of  Mohammed.  He  was  not  a  mere 
"  camel-driver."  The  Koreish  were  the  ruling  clan  of  Mecca ; 
Mecca  was  even  then  the  centre  for  all  Arabia ;  and  Moham- 
med's grandfather,  Abd  el  Muttalib,  was  the  most  influential 
and  powerful  man  of  that  aristocratic  city.  The  pet-child  of 
Abd  el  Muttalib  was  the  orphan  boy  Mohammed.  Until  his 
eighth  year  he  was  under  the  shelter  and  favor  of  this  chief 
man  of  the  Koreish.  He  learned  what  it  was  to  be  lordly  and 
to  exercise  power,  and  never  forgot  it.  The  man,  his  wife  and 
his  training  were  the  determinative  factors  in  the  character  of 
Mohammed.  The  ruling  factor  was  the  mind  and  genius  of 
the  man  himself.  Of  attractive  personal  qualities,  beautiful 
countenance,  and  accomplished  in  business,  he  first  won  the 
attention  and  then  the  heart  of  a  very  wealthy  widow,  Khadi- 
jah.  Koelle  tells  us  that  she  was  "  evidently  an  Arab  lady  of 
a  strong  mind  and  mature  experience  who  maintained  a  de- 
cided ascendency  over  her  husband,  and  managed  him  with 
great  wisdom  and  firmness.  This  appears  from  nothing  more 
strikingly,  than  from  the  very  remarkable  fact  that  she  suc- 
ceeded in  keeping  him  from  marrying  any  other  wife  as  long 
as  she  lived,  though  at  her  death,  when  he  had  long  ceased  to 
'  Koelle's  Mohammed,  p.  27. 


THE  PROPHET  AND  HIS  BOOK  181 

be  a  young  man  he  indulged  without  restraint  in  the  multipli- 
cation of  wives.  But  as  Khadijah  herself  was  favorably  dis- 
posed toward  Hanifism,  it  is  highly  probable  that  she  exercised 
her  commanding  influence  over  her  husband  in  such  a  manner 
as  to  promote  and  strengthen  his  own  attachment  to  the  re- 
formatory sect  of  monotheists." 

Mohammed  married  this  woman  when  he  had  reached  his 
twenty-fifth  year.  At  the  age  of  forty  he  began  to  have  his 
revelations  and  to  preach  his  new  religion.  His  first  convert, 
naturally  perhaps,  was  his  wife  ;  then  Ali  and  Zeid  his  two 
adopted  children  ;  then  his  friend,  the  prosperous  merchant, 
Abu-Bekr.     Such  was  the  nucleus  for  the  new  faith. 

Mohammed  is  described  in  tradition  as  a  man  above  middle 
height,  of  spare  figure,  commanding  presence,  massive  head, 
noble  brow,  and  jet-black  hair.  His  eyes  were  piercing.  He 
had  a  long  bushy  beard.  Decision  marked  his  every  move- 
ment and  he  always  walked  rapidly.  Writers  seem  to  agree 
that  he  had  the  genius  to  command  and  expected  obedience 
from  equals  as  well  as  inferiors.  James  Freeman  Clarke  says 
that  to  him  more  than  to  any  other  of  whom  history  makes 
mention  was  given 

"  The  monarch  mind,  the  mystery  of  commanding, 
The  birth-hour  gift,  the  art  Napoleon 
Of  wielding,  moulding,  gathering,  welding,  banding 
The  hearts  of  thousands  till  they  moved  as  one." 

As  to  the  moral  character  of  Mohammed  there  is  great  di- 
versity of  opinion  and  the  conclusions  of  different  scholars  can- 
not be  easily  reconciled.  Muir,  Dods,  Badger,  and  others 
claim  that  he  was  at  first  sincere  and  upright,  himself  believing 
in  his  so-called  revelations,  but  that  afterward,  intoxicated  by 
success,  he  used  the  dignity  of  his  prophetship  for  personal 
ends  and  was  conscious  of  deceiving  the  people  in  some  of  his 
later  revelations.  Bosworth  Smith  and  his  like,  maintain  that 
he  was  "a  very  Prophet  of  God  "  all  through  his  life  and  that 


V 


182  ARABIA,   THE   CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

the  sins  and  faults  of  his  later  years  are  only  specks  on  the  sun 
of  his  glory.  Older  Avriters,  with  whom  I  agree,  saw  in  Mo- 
hammed only  the  skill  of  a  clever  impostor  from  the  day  of  his 
first  message  to  the  day  of  his  death.  Koelle,  whose  book  is  a 
mine  of  accurate  scholarship  and  whose  experience  of  many 
years  mission -work  in  Moslem  lands  qualifies  him  for  a  sober 
judgment,  sees  no  striking  contrast  between  the  earlier  and 
later  part  of  Mohammed's  life  that  cannot  be  easily  explained 
by  the  influence  of  Khadijah.  He  was  semper  idem,  an  am- 
bitious enthusiast  choosing  different  means  for  the  same  end 
and  never  very  particular  as  to  the  character  of  the  means  used. 
Aside  from  the  question  of  Mohammed's  sincerity  no  one 
can  apologize  for  his  moral  character  if  judged  according  to 
the  law  of  his  time,  the  law  he  himself  professed  to  reveal  or 
the  law  of  the  New  Testament.  By  the  New  Testament  law 
of  Jesus  Christ,  who  was  the  last  prophet  before  Mohammed 
and  whom  Mohammed  acknowledged  as  the  Word  of  God,  the 
Arabian  prophet  stands  self-condemned.  The  most  cursory 
examination  of  his  biography  proves  that  he  broke  repeatedly 
every  sacred  precept  of  the  Sermon  on  the  Mount.  And  the 
Koran  itself  proves  that  the  Spirit  of  Jesus  was  entirely  absent 
from  the  mind  of  Mohammed.  The  Arabs  among  whom  Mo- 
hammed was  born  and  grew  to  manhood  also  had  a  law, 
although  they  were  idolaters,  slave-holders  and  polygamists. 
Even  the  robbers  of  the  desert  who,  like  Mohammed,  laid  in 
wait  for  caravans,  had  a  code  of  honor.  Three  flagrant 
breaches  of  this  code  stain  the  character  of  Mohammed.'  It 
was  quite  lawful  to  marry  a  captive  woman  whose  relatives  had 
been  slain  in  battle,  but  not  until  three  months  after  their  death. 
Mohammed  only  waited  three  days  in  the  case  of  the  Jewess 
Safia.  It  was  lawful  to  rob  merchants  but  not  pilgrims  on  their 
way  to  Mecca.  Mohammed  broke  this  old  law  and  "  revealed 
a  verse"  to  justify  his  conduct.     Even  in  the  "Time  of  Ig- 

'  See  an  article  on  "  Mohammedanism  and  Christianity." — Dr.  Robert 
Bruce,  The  Christian  Intelligencer  (New  York)  April,  1894. 


THE  PROPHET  AND  HIS  BOOK  183 

norance"  it  was  incest  to  marry  the  wife  of  an  adopted  son 
even  after  his  decease.  The  prophet  Mohammed  fell  in  love 
with  the  lawful  wife  of  his  adopted  son  Zeid,  prevailed  on  him 
to  divorce  her  and  then  married  her  immediately ;  for  this  also 
he  had  a  "special  revelation."  But  Mohammed  was  not  only 
guilty  of  breaking  the  old  Arab  laws  and  coming  infinitely 
short  of  the  law  of  Christ,  he  never  even  kept  the  laws  of 
which  he  claimed  to  be  the  divinely  appointed  medium  and 
custodian.  When  Khadijah  died  he  found  his  own  law,  lax  as 
it  was,  insufficient  to  restrain  his  lusts.  His  followers  were  to 
be  content  with  four  lawful  wives ;  he  indulged  in  ten  and  en- 
tered into  negotiations  for  matrimony  with  thirty  others. 

It  is  impossible  to  form  a  just  estimate  of  the  character  of 
Mohammed  unless  we  know  somewhat  of  his  relations  with 
women.  This  subject  however  is  of  necessity  shrouded  from 
decent  contemplation  by  the  superabounding  brutality  and 
filthiness  of  its  character.  A  recent  writer  in  a  missionary 
magazine  touching  on  this  subject  says,  "  We  must  pass  the 
matter  over,  simply  noting  that  there  are  depths  of  filth  in  the 
Prophet's  character  which  may  assort  well  enough  with  the  de- 
praved sensuality  of  the  bulk  of  his  followers  .  .  .  but 
which  are  simply  loathsome  in  the  eyes  of  all  over  whom 
Christianity  in  any  measure  or  degree  has  influence."  We 
have  no  inclination  to  lift  the  veil  that  in  most  English  biog- 
raphies covers  the  family-life  of  the  prophet  of  Arabia.  But  it 
is  only  fair  to  remark  that  these  love-adventures  and  the  dis- 
gusting details  of  his  married  life  form  a  large  part  of  the 
"  lives  of  the  prophet  of  God  "  which  are  the  fireside  literature 
of  educated  Moslems. 

Concerning  the  career  of  Mohammed  after  the  Hegira,  or 
flight  from  Mecca  (622  a.  d.),  a  brief  summary  suffices  to  show 
of  what  spirit  he  was.  Under  his  orders  and  direction  the 
Moslems  lay  in  wait  for  caravans  and  plundered  them ;  the 
first  victories  of  Islam  were  the  victories  of  highwaymen  and 
robbers.     Asma,  the  poetess  who  assailed  the  character  of  Mo- 


184  JR^BU,    THE   CRADLE   OF  ISLAM 

hammed,  was  foully  murdered  in  her  sleep  by  Omeir,  and  Mo- 
hammed praised  him  for  the  deed.  Similarly  Abu  Afik,  the 
Jew,  was  killed  at  the  request  of  Mohammed.  The  story  of 
the  massacre  of  the  Jewish  captives  is  a  dark  stain  also  on  the 
character  of  the  prophet  whose  mouth  ever  spoke  of  "the 
Merciful  and  Compassionate."  After  the  victory,  trenches  were 
dug  across  the  market-place  and  one  by  one  the  male-captives 
were  beheaded  on  the  brink  of  the  trench  and  cast  in  it.  The 
butchery  lasted  all  day  and  it  needed  torch-light  to  finish  it. 
After  dark  Mohammed  solaced  himself  with  Rihana  a  Jewish 
captive  girl,  who  refused  marriage  and  Islam,  but  became  his 
bond-slave.  It  is  no  wonder  that  shortly  after,  Zeinab,  who 
had  lost  her  father  and  brother  in  battle,  tried  to  avenge  her 
race  by  attempting  to  poison  Mohammed. 

In  the  seventh  year  of  the  Hegira  Mohammed  went  to 
Mecca  and  instituted  for  all  time  the  Moslem  pilgrimage.  The 
following  year  he  again  set  out  for  Mecca  at  the  head  of  an 
army  of  10,000  men  and  took  the  city  without  a  battle. 
Other  expeditions  followed  and  up  to  the  day,  almost  the  hour, 
of  his  deatli  the  prophet  was  planning  conquests  by  the  sword. 
It  is  a  bloody  story  from  the  year  of  the  Hegira  until  the  close 
of  the  Caliphates.  He  who  reads  it  in  Muir's  volumes  cannot 
but  feel  the  sad  contrast  between  the  early  days  of  Islam  and 
the  early  days  of  Christianity.  The  germ  of  all  sword-con- 
qiiest  must  be  sought  in  the  life  and  book  of  Mohammed. 
Both  consecrate  butchery  in  the  service  of  Allah.  The  suc- 
cessors of  Mohammed  were  not  less  unmerciful  than  was  the 
prophet  himself. 

Thus  far  we  have  considered  Mohammed  from  a  critical 
standpoint  and  have  written  facts.  But  the  Mohammed  of  his- 
tory and  the  Mohammed  of  the  present  day  Moslem  biogra- 
phers are  two  different  persons.  Even  in  the  Koran,  Mohammed 
is  human  and  liable  to  error.  Tradition  has  changed  all  that. 
He  is  now  sinless  and  almost  divine.  The  two  hundred  and 
one  names  given  him  by  pious  believers  proclaim  his  apotheosis. 


THE  PROPHET  AND  HIS  BOOK  185 

He  is  called  Light  of  God,  Peace  of  the  World,  Glory  of  the 
Ages,  First  of  all  Creatures  and  names  yet  more  lofty  and 
blasphemous.  He  is  at  once  the  sealer  and  concealor  of  all 
former  prophets  and  revelations.  They  have  not  only  been 
succeeded  but  also  supplanted  by  Mohammed.  No  Moslem 
prays  to  him,  but  every  Moslem  daily  prays  for  him  in  endless 
repetition.  He  is  the  only  powerful  intercessor  on  the  day  of 
judgment.  Every  detail  of  his  early  life  is  surrounded  with 
fantastical  miracles  and  marvels  to  prove  his  divine  commission. 
Even  the  evil  in  his  life  is  attributed  to  divine  permission  or 
command  and  so  the  very  faults  of  his  character  are  his  end- 
less glory  and  his  sign  of  superiority.  God  favored  him 
above  all  creatures.  He  dwells  in  the  highest  heaven  and  is 
several  degrees  above  Jesus  in  honor  and  station.  His  name 
is  never  uttered  or  written  without  the  addition  of  a  prayer. 
<'Ya  Mohammed"  is  the  open  sesame  to  every  door  of  diffi- 
culty, temporal  or  spiritual.  One  hears  tliat  name  in  the  bazaar 
and  in  the  street,  in  the  mosque  and  from  the  minaret.  Sailors 
sing  it  while  raising  their  sails ;  hammals  groan  it  to  raise  a 
burden  ;  the  beggar  howls  it  to  obtain  alms ;  it  is  the  Bedouin's 
cry  in  attacking  a  caravan  ;  it  hushes  babies  to  sleep  as  a  cra- 
dle song ;  it  is  the  pillow  of  the  sick  and  the  last  word  of  the 
dying ;  it  is  written  on  the  door-posts  and  in  their  hearts  as 
well  as  since  eternity  on  the  throne  of  God  ;  it  is  to  the  de- 
vout Moslem  the  name  above  every  name ;  grammarians  can 
tell  you  how  its  four  letters  are  representative  of  all  the  sciences 
and  mysteries  by  their  wonderful  combination.  The  name  of 
Mohammed  is  the  best  to  give  a  child  and  the  best  to  swear  by 
for  an  end  of  all  dispute  in  a  close  bargain.  The  exceeding 
honor  given  to  Mohammed's  name  by  his  followers  is  only  one 
indication  of  the  place  their  prophet  occupies  in  their  system 
and  holds  in  their  hearts.  From  the  fullness  of  the  heart  the 
mouth  speaketh.  Mohammed  holds  the  keys  of  heaven  and 
hell.  No  Moslem,  however  bad  his  character,  will  perish 
finally ;  no  unbeliever,  however  good  his  life,  can  be  saved  ex- 


186  ARABIA,    THE   CRADLE   OF  ISLAM 

cept  through  Mohammed.  One  has  only  to  question  the 
Moslem  masses  or  read  a  single  volume  of  the  traditions  to 
prove  these  statements. 

Islam  denies  a  mediator  and  an  incarnation  but  the  "  Story 
of  the  Jew"  and  similar  tales  put  Mohammed  in  the  place  of 
a  mediator  without  an  incarnation,  without  an  atonement, 
without  holiness.  Our  Analysis  of  the  Moslem  creed  shows 
how  all  the  later  teaching  which  so  exalted  Mohammed  was 
present  in  the  germ.  "  Zc?  ilaha  ilia  Allah''  is  the  theology, 
"Mohammed  er  rasool  Allah,''''  the  complete  Soteriology  of 
Islam.  The  logical  necessity  of  a  perfect  mediator  was  at  the 
basis  of  the  doctrine  of  Tradition.  Islam  has,  it  claims,  a 
perfect  revelation  in  the  letter  of  the  Koran ;  and  a  perfect  ex- 
ample in  the  life  of  Mohammed.  The  stream  has  not  risen 
higher  than  its  sources. 

The  Book  of  Islam.  When  Mohammed  Webb  the  lat- 
est American  champion  of  Islam  spoke  at  the  Chicago  Par- 
liament of  religions  in  praise  of  the  Koran  and  its  teaching. 
Rev.  George  E.  Post,  M.  D.,  of  Beirut  deemed  it  a  sufficient  re- 
ply to  let  the  book  speak  for  itself.  He  said  :  "I  hold  in  my 
hand  a  book  which  is  never  touched  by  200,000,000  of  the 
human  race  with  unwashen  hands,  a  book  which  is  never  car- 
ried below  the  waist,  a  book  which  is  never  laid  upon  the  floor, 
a  book  every  word  of  which  to  these  200,000,000  of  the  hu- 
man race  is  considered  the  direct  word  of  God  which  came 
down  from  heaven.  I  propose  without  note  or  comment  to 
read  to  you  a  few  words  from  the  sacred  book  and  you  may 
make  your  own  comments  upon,  them  afterward."  After 
quoting  several  verses  to  show  that  Mohammed  preached  a  re- 
ligion of  the  sword  and  of  polygamy,  he  added:  "There  is 
one  chapter  which  I  dare  not  stand  before  you,  my  sisters, 
mothers  and  daughters,  and  read  to  you.  I  ha^'e  not  the  face 
to  read  it ;  nor  would  I  like  to  read  it  even  in  a  congregation 
of  men.     It  is  the  sixty-fourth  chapter  of  the  Koran." 

What  sort  of  a  book  is  this  revelation  of  Mohammed  of  which 


THE  PROPHET  AND  HIS  BOOK  187 

parts  are  unfit  to  read  before  a  Christian  audience  and  which 
yet  is  too  holy  to  be  touched  by  other  than  Moslem  hands? 
A  book  which  the  orthodox  Moslem  believes  to  be  uncreated 
and  eternal,  all-embracing  and  all-surpassing,  miraculous  in  its 
origin  and  contents.  A  book  concerning  which  Mohammed 
himself  has  said,  "If  the  Koran  were  wrapped  in  a  skin  and 
thrown  into  the  fire  it  would  not  burn."  Goethe  described  it 
thus  :  "  However  often  we  turn  to  it,  at  first  disgusting  us  each 
time  afresh  it  soon  attracts,  astounds,  and  in  the  end  enforces 
our  reverence.  Its  style  in  accordance  with  its  contents  and 
aim  is  stern,  grand,  terrible — and  ever  and  anon  truly  sublime. 
Thus  this  book  will  go  on  exercising  through  all  ages  a  most 
potent  influence."  And  Noldeke  writes,  "if  it  were  not  for 
the  exquisite  flexibility  and  vigor  of  the  Arabic  language  it- 
self, which,  however  is  to  be  attributed  more  to  the  age  in 
which  the  author  lived  than  to  his  individuality,  it  would 
scarcely  be  bearable  to  read  the  later  portions  of  the  Koran  a 
second  time."  Goethe  read  only  the  translation ;  and  Noldeke 
was  master  of  the  original.  It  is  as  hopeless  to  arrive  at  a  unan- 
imous verdict  regarding  the  Koran  as  it  is  to  reach  an  agree- 
ment regarding  Mohammed. 

The  book  has  fifty-five  noble  titles  on  the  lips  of  its  people 
but  is  generally  called  the  Koran  or  "The  Reading."  It  has 
one  hundred  and  fourteen  chapters,  some  of  which  are  as  long 
as  the  book  of  Genesis  and  others  consisting  of  two  or  three 
sentences  only.  The  whole  book  is  smaller  than  the  New  Tes- 
tament, has  no  chronological  order  whatever  and  is  without 
logical  sequence  or  climax.  What  strikes  the  reader  first  of  all 
is  its  jumbled  character ;  every  sort  of  fact  and  fancy,  law  and 
legend  is  thrown  together  piecemeal.  The  four  proposed 
chronological  arrangements,  by  Jorlal-ud-Din,  Muir,  Rodwell 
and  Noldeke  are  in  utter  disagreement.  Only  two  of  Moham- 
med's contemporaries  are  mentioned  in  the  entire  book  and  his 
own  name  occurs  only  five  times.  The  book  is  unintelligible 
to  the  average  Moslem  without  a  commentary,  and  I  defy  any 


188  ARABIA,   THE   CRADLE   OF  ISLAM 

one  else  to  read  it  through,  without  the  aid  of  notes,  and 
understand  a  single  chapter  or  even  section. 

We  will  not  stop  to  consider  the  fabulous  account  which 
Moslems  give  of  the  origin  of  the  Koran  and  how  the  ^■arious 
chapters  were  revealed.  Although  Moslems  claim  that  the 
book  was  eternally  perfect  in  form  and  preserved  in  heaven, 
they  are  compelled  to  admit  that  it  was  revealed  piece-meal 
and  at  various  times  and  places  by  Mohammed  to  his  followers. 
It  was  recorded  in  writing,  after  the  rude  Arab  fashion,  "on 
palm-leaves  and  sheep-bones  and  white  stones  "  to  some  extent ; 
but  for  the  most  part  was  preserved  orally  by  constant  repeti- 
tion. Omar  suggested  to  Abu-Bekr  after  the  battle  of  Yemama 
that  since  many  of  the  Koran  reciters  were  slain,  it  would  be 
the  part  of  wisdom  to  put  the  book  of  God  in  permanent  form. 
The  task  was  committed  to  Zaid,  the  chief  amanuensis  of  Mo- 
hammed and  the  resulting  volume  was  entrusted  to  the  care  of 
Hafsa,  one  of  the  widows  of  the  prophet.  Ten  years  later  a 
recension  of  the  Koran  was  ordered  by  the  Caliph  Othman  and 
all  previous  copies  were  called  in  and  burned.  This  recension 
of  Othman,  sent  to  all  the  chief  cities  of  the  Moslem  world, 
has  been  faithfully  handed  down  to  the  present.  "  No  other 
book  in  the  world  has  remained  twelve  centuries  with  so  pure  a 
text."  (Hughes.)  The  present  variations  in  editions  of  the 
Arabic  Koran  are  numerous  but  none  of  them  are,  in  any  sense 
important.  The  present  Koran  is  the  same  book  that  Moham- 
med professed  to  have  received  from  God.  Out  of  its  own 
mouth  will  we  judge  the  book  ;  and  we  cannot  judge  the  book 
without  judging  the  prophet. 

We  will  speak  later  of  the  poetical  beauties  of  the  Koran 
and  of  its  literary  character.  We  do  not  deny  also  that 
there  are  in  the  Koran  certain  moral  beauties,  such  as  its 
deep  and  fervent  trust  in  the  one  God,  its  lofty  descriptions 
of  His  Almighty  power  and  omnipresence,  and  its  sententious 
wisdom.  The  first  chapter  and  the  verse  of  the  throne  are 
examples. 


THE  PROPHET  AND  HIS  BOOK  189 

"  In  the  name  of  God,  the  Compassionate,  the  Merciful. 

Praise  be  to  God,  Lord  of  all  the  worlds ! 

The  Compassionate,  the  Merciful ! 

King  on  the  Day  of  Judgment ! 

Thee  do  we  worship,  and  to  Thee  do  we  cry  for  help ! 

Guide  Thou  us  on  the  right  path ! 

The  path  of  those  to  whom  Thou  art  gracious ! 

Not  of  those  with  whom  Thou  art  angered,  nor  of  those  who  go  astray," 

"God!  there  is  no  God  but  He;  the  living,  the  Eternal 
Slumber  doth  not  overtake  Him,  neither  sleep. 
To  Him  belongeth  whatsoever  is  in  heaven  and  on  the  earth. 
The  preservation  of  both  is  no  weariness  unto  Him. 
He  is  the  high,  the  mighty." 

The  great  bulk  of  the  Koran  is  either  legislative  or  legend- 
ary; the  book  consists  of  laws  and  stories.  The  former 
relate  entirely  to  subjects  which  engrossed  the  Arabs  of  Mo- 
hammed's day — the  laws  of  inheritance,  the  relation  of  the 
sexes,  the  law  of  retaliation,  etc. — and  this  part  of  the  book 
has  a  local  character.  The  stories  on  the  other  hand  go  back 
to  Adam  and  the  patriarchs,  take  in  several  unknown  Arabian 
prophets  or  leaders,  centre  around  Jesus  Christ,  Moses  and 
Solomon  and  do  not  venture  beyond  Jewish  territory  except  to 
mention  Alexander  the  Great  and  Lukman  (^sop.). 

From  the  analytical  tables  it  is  not  very  difificult  to  see 
whence  the  material  for  the  Koran  was  selected.  Rabbi 
Geiger's  book,  recently  translated  into  English,  will  satisfy  any 
reader  that  Hughes  is  nearly  right  when  he  says,  "Moham- 
medanism is  simply  Talmudic  Judaism  adapted  to  Arabia  plus 
the  apostleship  of  Jesus  and  Mohammed."  But  it  is  Talmudic 
Judaism  and  not  the  Judaism  of  the  Old  Testament.  For  the 
Koran  is  remarkable  most  of  all  not  because  of  its  contents  but 
because  of  its  omissions.  Not  because  of  what  it  reveals  but 
for  what  it  conceals  of  "former  revelations."  The  defects  of 
its  teaching  are  many.  It  is  full  of  historical  errors  and 
blunders.     It  has  monstrous   fables.     It  teaches  a  false  cos- 


190  ARABIA,   THE   CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

mogony.  It  is  full  of  superstitions.  It  perpetuates  slavery, 
polygamy,  religious  intolerance,  the  seclusion  and  degradation 
of  woman  and  petrifies  social  life.  But  all  this  is  of  minor 
importance  compared  with  the  fact  that  the  Koran  professing 
to  be  a  revelation  from  God  does  not  teach  the  way  to  recon- 
ciliation with  God  and  seems  to  ignore  the  first  and  great  barrier 
to  such  reconciliation,  viz :  sin.  Of  this  the  Old  and  New 
Testaments  are  always  speaking.  Sin  and  salvation  are  the 
subject  of  which  the  Torah  and  the  Zaboor  and  the  Itijil  (Law 
Prophets  and  Psalms)  are  full.  The  Koran  is  silent  or  if  not 
absolutely  silent,  keeps  this  great  question  ever  in  the  back- 
ground.* 

It  is  a  commonplace  of  theology  that  "  to  form  erroneous 
conceptions  of  sin  is  to  fall  into  still  graver  errors  regarding  the 
way  of  salvation."  Mohammed,  as  is  evident  from  his  whole 
life,  had  no  deep  conviction  of  sin  in  himself;  he  was  full  of 
self-righteousness.  His  ideas,  too,  of  God,  wtxt  physical,  not 
moral ;  he  saw  God's  power,  but  never  had  a  glimpse  of  His 
holiness.  And  so  we  find  that  there  is  an  inward  unity  binding 
together  the  prophet  and  his  book  as  to  their  real  character  in 
the  light  of  the  gospel.  With  such  ideas  of  God,  such  a 
prophet  and  such  a  book,  it  is  easy  to  understand  why  the  Mo- 
hammedan world  became  what  it  is  to-day.  These  bare  out- 
lines of  the  system  of  Islam  are  all  that  are  necessary  to  indi- 
cate its  nature  and  genus.  Allah's  character  as  the  revealer, 
Mohammed's  character  as  the  channel  of  the  revelation,  and 
the  revelation  itself,  show  us  Islam  in  its  cradle. 

1  Even  the  sacred  books  of  India  and  China  and  Ancient  Egypt  com- 
pare more  favorably  with  the  Bible  in  this  respect  than  does  the  Koran. 
They  teach  the  heinous  character  of  sin,  as  sin,  and  do  not  deny  the  need 
of  a  mediator  or  of  propitiatory  sacrifice  but  are  full  of  both  ideas. 


XIX 

THE  WAHABI  RULERS  AND  REFORMERS 

"  Nothing  is  so  easy  to  appreciate  as  true  Christian  commerce.  It  is  a 
speaking  argument,  even  to  the  lowest  savage,  for  a  gospel  of  truth  and 
love,  and  yet  more  to  the  races  sophisticated  by  a  false  civilization." — 
Principal  Cairns. 

THE  history  of  the  Arabian  Peninsula  has  never  yet  been 
written.  Many  books  describe  certain  periods  of  its 
history  from  the  time  of  the  earlier  Arabian  rulers,  but  there 
is  no  volume  that  tells  the  story  from  the  beginning  in  a  way 
worthy  of  the  subject.  It  would  be  interesting  to  search  out 
the  earliest  records  and  trace  the  Himyarite  dynasties  to  their 
origin  ;  to  learn  the  story  of  the  Jewish  immigrants  who  settled 
in  Medina,  Mecca  and  Yemen  even  before  the  Christian  Era ; 
to  follow  the  Arabs  in  their  conquests  under  the  banner  of  the 
prophet ;  to  watch  the  sudden  rise  of  the  Carmathians  and  fol- 
low them  in  their  career  of  destruction ;  to  search  the  old  li- 
braries and  rediscover  the  romantic  story  of  the  Portuguese, 
the  Dutch  and  the  English  in  Arabian  waters; — but  our  space 
limits  us  to  the  story  of  the  past  century.' 

To  understand  the  present  political  conditions  and  recent 
history  of  Arabia,  we  must  go  back  to  the  year  1765,  which 
marks  the  rise  of  the  remarkable  Wahabi  movement,  which  was 
at  the  bottom  of  all  the  political  changes  that  the  Peninsula  has 
seen  since  -that  time.  This  movement  was  the  renaissance  of 
Islam,  even  though  it  ended  in  apparent  disaster,  and  was  polit- 
ically a  splendid  fiasco.  The  Wahabi  reform  attracted  the  at- 
tention of  Turkey  to  Arabia ;  its  influence  was  felt  in  India  to 

1  For  a  Chronological  table  of  Arabian  history,  from  the  earliest  times 
to  the  present,  see  Appendix. 

191 


192  ARABM,   THE  CRADLE   OF  ISLAM 

the  extent  of  declaring  z.  Jihad  or  religious  war  against  the  gov- 
ernment, and  compelled  England  to  study  the  situation  and 
send  representatives  to  the  very  heart  of  Arabia. 

Beginning  with  the  ^^^ahabi  dynasty,  the  history  of  the  past 
century  in  Arabia  centres  in  the  rulers  of  Nejd  and  Oman,  the 
Turkish  conquests  and  the  English  influence  and  occupation. 
The  strong  independent  government  of  Nejd  under  Ibn  Rashid 
and  his  successor,  Abd-ul-Aziz,  would  have  been  an  impossi- 
bility except  for  the  result  of  the  Wahabi  movement,  in  demon- 
strating the  weakness  of  Turkish  rule.  And  it  was  for  fear  of 
the  Wahabi  aggressions  that  Turkey  strengthened  her  Arabian 
possessions  and  invaded  Hassa. 

Mohammed  bin  Abd-ul-Wahab  was  born  at  Ayinah  in  Nejd, 
in  1 69 1,  Carefully  instructed  by  his  father  in  the  tenets  of  Is- 
lam according  to  the  school  of  Hambali,  the  strictest  of  the 
four  great  sects. ^  Abd-ul-Wahab  visited  the  schools  of  Mecca, 
Busrah  and  Bagdad,  to  increase  his  learning.  At  Medina, 
too,  he  absorbed  the  deepest  learning  of  the  Moslem  divines 
and  soaked  himself  in  the  "  six  correct  books  "  of  traditions. 
In  his  travels  he  had  observed  the  laxity  of  faith  and  practice 
which  had  crept  in,  especially  among  the  Turks  and  the  Arabs 
of  the  large  cities.  He  tried  to  distinguish  between  the  essen- 
tial elements  of  Islam  and  its  later  additions,  some  of  which 
seemed  to  him  to  savor  of  gross  idolatry  and  worldliness. 
What  most  offended  the  rigid  monotheism  of  his  philosophy 
was  the  almost  universal  visitation  of  shrines,  invocation  of 
saints  and  honor  paid  to  the  tomb  of  Mohammed.  The  use  of 
tlffe  rosary,  of  jewels,  silk,  gold,  silver,  wine  and  tobacco,  were 
all  abominations  to  be  eschewed.  These  were  indications  of 
the  great  need  for  reform.  The  earlier  teaching  of  the  com- 
panions of  the  prophet  had  been  set  aside  or  overlaid  by  later 
teaching.     Even  the  four  orthodox  schools  had  departed  from 

1  The  four  orthodox  sects  are  called :  Hanafis,  Shafts,  Malakis,  and 
Hambalis.  The  last  was  founded  by  Ibn  Ilambal  at  Bagdad,  780  A.  D. 
it  is  the  least  popular  sect. 


THE   iV/tHABI  RULERS  AND  REFORMERS  193 

the  pure  faith  by  allowing  pilgrimage  to  Medina,  by  multiply- 
ing festivals  and  philosophizing  about  the  nature  of  x\llah. 
Therefore  it  was  that  Abd-ul-Wahab  preached  reform  not  only, 
but  proclaimed  himself  the  leader  of  a  new  sect.  His  teach- 
ing was  based  on  the  Koran  and  the  early  traditions. 

This  movement  is  chiefly  distinguished  from  the  orthodox 
system  in  the  following  particulars  : 

1.  The  Wahabis  reject  /jnia  or  the  agreement  of  later  interpreters, 

2.  They  offer  no  prayers  to  prophet,  wali,  or  saint,  nor  visit  their 
tombs  for  that  purpose. 

3.  They  say  Mohammed  is  not  yet  an  intercessor;  although  at  the  last 
day  he  will  be. 

4.  They  forbid  women  to  visit  the  graves  of  the  dead. 

5.  They  allow  only  four  festivals;  Fitr,  Azha,  'AsJmra  and  Lailat El 
Mobarek. 

6.  They  do  not  celebrate  Mohammed's  birth. 

7.  They  use  their  knuckles  for  prayer-counting,  and  not  rosaries. 

8.  They  strictly  forbid  the  use  of  silk,  gold,  silver  ornaments,  tobacco, 
music,  opium,  and  every  luxury  of  the  Orient,  except  perfume  and 
women. 

9.  They  have  anthropomorphic  ideas  of  God  by  strictly  literal  inter- 
pretation of  the  Koran  texts  about  "  His  hand,"  "  sitting,"  etc. 

10.  They  believe  jihad  or  religious  war,  is  not  out  of  date,  but  in- 
umbent  on  the  believer. 

11.  They  condemn  minarets,  tombstones,  and  everything  that  was  not 
in  use  during  the  first  years  of  Islam. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  Abd-ul-Wahab  honestly  tried  to  bring 
about  a  reform  and  that  in  many  of  the  points  enumerated  his 
reform  was  strictly  a  return  to  primitive  Islam.  But  it  was  too 
radical  to  last.  It  took  no  count  of  modern  civilization  and 
the  ten  centuries  that  had  modified  the  very  character  of  the 
Arabs  of  the  towns  not  to  speak  of  those  outside  of  Arabia. 
Yet  the  preaching  of  the  Reformer  found  willing  ears  in  the 
isolation  of  the  desert.  As  in  the  days  of  Omar,  the  promise 
of  reform  in  religion  was  made  attractive  by  the  promise  of 
rich  booty  to  those  who  fought  in  the  path  of  God  and  de- 


194  ARABM,   THE  CRADLE   OF  ISLAM 

stroyed  creature-worshippers.  Mohammed  Abd-ul-Wahab  was 
the  preacher,  but  to  propagate  his  doctrine  he  needed  a  sword. 
Mohammed  bin  Saud,  of  Deraiyah.  suppHed  the  latter  factor 
and  the  two  Mohammeds,  allied  by  marriage  and  a  common 
ambition,  began  to  make  converts  and  conquests.  The  son 
of  Bin  Saud,  Abd-ul-Aziz,  was  the  Omar  of  the  new  movement, 
and  his  son  Saud  even  surpassed  the  father  in  military  prowess 
and  successful  conquest.  Abd-ul-Aziz  was  murdered  by  a 
Persian  fanatic  while  prostrate  in  prayer  in  the  mosque  at 
Deraiyah,  in  1803.  Saud  at  this  very  time  was  pushing  the 
Wahabi  conquest  to  the  very  gates  of  Mecca.  On  the  27th 
of  April,  1803,  he  carried  his  banner  into  the  court  of  the 
Kaaba  and  began  to  cleanse  the  holy  place.  Piles  of  pipes, 
tobacco,  silks,  rosaries  and  amulets  were  collected  into  one 
great  heap  and  set  on  fire  by  the  infuriated  enthusiasts.  No 
excesses  were  committed  against  the  people  except  that  re- 
ligion was  forced  upon  them.  The  mosques  were  filled  by 
public  "whips"  who  used  their  leather  thongs  without  mercy 
on  all  the  lazy  or  negligent.  Everybody,  for  a  marvel,  prayed 
five  times  a  day.  The  result  of  his  victory  at  Mecca  was 
communicated  by  the  dauntless  Saud  in  the  following  naive 
letter  addressed  to  the  Sultan  of  Turkey  : 

"  Saud  to  Salim. — I  entered  Mecca  on  the  fourth  day  of  Moharram 
in  the  1218th  year  of  the  Hegira.  I  kept  peace  toward  the  inhabitants. 
I  destroyed  all  things  that  were  idolatrously  worshipped.  I  abolished  all 
taxes  except  those  that  were  required  by  the  law.  I  confirmed  the  Kadhi 
whom  you  had  appointed  agreeably  to  the  commands  of  the  prophet  of 
God.  I  desire  that  you  will  give  orders  to  the  rulers  of  Damascus  and 
Cairo  not  to  come  up  to  the  sacred  city  with  the  Mahmal^  and  with 
trumpets  and  drums.  Religion  is  not  profited  by  these  things.  May  the 
peace  and  blessing  of  God  be  with  you." 

The  absence  of  long  salutations  and  the  usual  phrases  of 
honor  is  characteristic  of  all  Wahabi  correspondence.     In  this 

'  The  Mahmal  is  a  covered  litter,  an  emblem  of  royalty  and  of  super- 
stitious honor  sent  from  Cairo  and  Damascus  to  Mecca,  to  this  day. 


THE   IV/tHABI  RULERS  AND  REFORMERS  195 

respect  it  is  a  great  improvement  on  the  excessive  lavishment 
of  titles  and  honors  so  usual  among  Moslems,  especially  among 
the  Persians  and  the  Turks. 

Before  the  close  of  the  year  Saud  avenged  his  father's  death 
by  attacking  Medina  and  destroying  the  gilded  dome  that 
covered  the  prophet's  tomb.  As  early  as  1801  parties  of 
plundering  Wahabis  had  sacked  the  tomb  of  Hussein  and 
carried  off  rich  booty  from,  the  sacred  city  of  Kerbela.  Ac- 
cording to  the  official  inventory  this  booty  consisted  of  vases, 
carpets,  jewels,  weapons  innumerable ;  also,  500  gilded  copper- 
plates from  the  dome,  4,000  cashmire  shawls,  6,000  Spanish 
doubloons,  350,000  Venetian  coins  of  silver,  400,000  Dutch 
ducats,  250,000  Spanish  dollars  and  a  large  number  of  Abys- 
sinian slaves  belonging  to  the  mosque.^  Their  raids  and  con- 
quests extended  in  every  direction  so  that  in  a  few  years  the 
Wahabi  power  was  supreme  in  the  greater  part  of  Arabia. 

A  single  illustration  will  show  the  great  Saud's  ^  prudence 
and  celerity  in  action.  When  he  invaded  the  Hauran  plains, 
in  1 8 10,  although  it  was  thirty-five  days'  journey  from  his 
capital,  yet  the  news  of  his  approach  only  preceded  his  arrival 
by  two  days,  nor  was  it  known  what  part  of  Syria  he  planned 
to  attack,  and  thirty-five  villages  of  Hauran  were  sacked  before 
the  Pasha  of  Damascus  could  make  any  demonstrations  for 
defence  ! 

Meanwhile  the  Sublime  Porte  remained  inactive  and  nothing 
was  done  to  regain  the  sacred  territories.  It  was  deemed  im- 
possible to  reach  Mecca  from  Damascus  with  any  large  body 
of  soldiers  through  hostile  territory  where  supplies  were  scarce. 
Salvation  was  expected  from  Egypt ;  and  it  was  hoped  that  an 

'  Zehm's  Arabie,  p.  332. 

*  Saud  died  at  the  age  of  forty-five,  in  April,  1814,  from  fever,  at 
Deraiyah.  He  was  a  strong-willed  ruler  but  administered  justice  with 
rigor;  he  was  wise  in  council  and  skillful  in  settling  disputes  and  healing 
factions.  Of  his  eight  children,  Abdullah,  the  eldest,  succeeded  him 
as  ruler. 


196  /IR/IBM,    THE   CRADLE   OF  ISLAM 

expedition  by  sea  might  succeed  in  taking  Jiddah  and  thence 
advance  upon  Mecca.  Mohammed  Ali  began  preparations  in 
1810,  and  in  the  summer  of  181 1  an  expedition  under  his  son 
Touson  Pasha  was  sent  out  from  Suez.  In  October  the  fleet 
arrived  at  Yenbo  and  the  troops  took  the  town.  Ghaleb  the 
Sherif  of  Mecca  proved  false  to  the  Wahabis  and  made  negoti- 
ations with  the  Turkish  commander  to  hand  over  the  town. 
In  January  the  army  occupied  Medina  but  at  Bedr  the  troops 
were  attacked  by  Wahabis  and  utterly  routed. 

All  through  this  first  campaign  the  cruelty  and  treachery  of 
the  Turks  was  shocking  even  to  the  mind  of  their  Bedouin 
allies.  None  of  their  promises  were  kept;  the  skulls  of  the 
enemy  slain  were  constructed  into  a  sort  of  tower  near  Medina  ; 
Ghalib,  the  Sherif,  was  betrayed  and  in  violation  of  the  most 
sacred  promises  he  was  taken  prisoner  and  deported ;  whole- 
sale butchery  of  the  wounded  and  mutilation  of  the  slain  were 
common. 

A  second  army  under  Mustafa  Bey  advanced  toward  Mecca 
and  also  took  possession  of  Taif.  Although  the  five  cities  of  the 
Hejaz  were  now  in  the  hands  of  the  Turks  the  Wahabi  power 
was  not  yet  broken.  Mohammed  Ali  Pasha  himself  proceeded 
from  Egypt  with  another  army ;  he  had  great  diiificulty  in 
securing  transportation  and  provisions.  Finally  he  landed  his 
troops  at  Jiddah  and  went  on  to  Mecca,  planning  to  attack 
Taraba  the  great  Wahabi  centre  of  the  south,  as  Deraiyah  was 
the  capital  of  the  north.  Here  the  enemy  had  gathered  in 
great  numbers  under  an  Amazon  leader,  a  widow  named 
Ghalye  who  ruled  the  Begoum  Arabs.  She  was  reported  to  be 
a  sorceress  among  the  Turks  and  stories  of  her  skill  and  cour- 
age inspired  them  with  fear.  When  the  attack  was  made  the 
Wahabis  came  off  victorious  and  so  harassed  the  army  of  oc- 
cupation that  during  18 13  and  the  beginning  of  181 4  they  re- 
mained perfectly  inactive.  Later  the  Turks  made  a  sea  at- 
tack on  Gunfida,  the  port  south  of  Jiddah,  and  captured  it. 
The  Wahabis  however  captured   the  wells  that  supplied  the 


THE    J4^-y1HABI  RULERS  AND  REFORMERS  197 

town,  made  a  sortie  and  the  Turkish  troops  fled  panic-stricken, 
to  their  ships.  Discontentment  arose  among  the  Turkish 
troops.  SuppHes  failed  and  wages  were  in  arrears.  Mo- 
hammed AU  changed  now  his  tactics  and  tried  to  bribe  the 
Bedouin  chiefs  to  desert  the  Wahabi  leaders.  At  this  time  the 
Turkish  army  consisted  of  nearly  20,000  men  and  yet  the 
campaign  dragged  on  without  a  definite  victory.* 

The  greatest  battle  was  fought  at  Bissel  near  Taif  where  Mo- 
hammed Ali  defeated  the  Wahabis  with  great  slaughter.  Six 
dollars  were  offered  for  every  Wahabi  head  and  before  the  day 
ended  5,000  bloody  heads  were  piled  up  before  the  Pasha. 
About  300  prisoners  were  taken  and  offered  quarter.  But  on 
reaching  Mecca  the  cruel  commander  impaled  fifty  of  them 
before  the  gates  of  the  city;  twelve  suffered  a  like  horrible 
death  at  every  one  of  the  ten  coffee-houses,  halting  places  be- 
tween Mecca  and  Jiddah  ;  the  remainder  were  killed  at  Jiddah 
and  their  carcasses  left  to  dogs  and  vultures. 

But  the  battle  went  against  the  Turks  when  they  met  the 
desert  and  its  terrors.  Hunger,  thirst,  fevers  and  the  Bedouin 
robbers  attacked  the  camp.  In  one  day  a  hundred  horses 
died  ;  the  soldiers  were  dissatisfied  and  deserted.  At  length 
Mohammed  Ali  made  proposals  of  peace  to  Abdullah  bin  Saud 
the  Wahabi  chief;  and  when  Saud  entered  Kasim  with  an  army 
the  negotiations  were  concluded  and  peace  was  declared.  But 
peace  was  not  kept,  and  Ibrahim  Pasha,  the  son  of  Mohammed 
Pasha  was  despatched  with  a  large  expedition  against  the 
Wahabis  in  August,  18 16. 

While  Egypt  was  attacking  the  Wahabi  strongholds  from  the 
west,  with  infinite  trouble  and  dubious  results,  the  greatest  loss 
the  Wahabi  government  had  yet  suffered,  was  from  a  blow 
dealt  by  the  British.  In  1809  an  English  expedition  went 
from  Bombay  against  the  piratical  inhabitants  of  their  chief 

'  The  history  of  its  tedious  prosecution  and  all  its  cruelty  on  the  side  of 
the  Turks  is  told  by  Burckhardt,  the  traveller,  who  was  himself  living  in 
Mecca  at  this  time. 


198  y4Ry4BU,    THE  CRADLE   OF  ISLAM 

castle  and  harbor,  Ras-el-Kheimah.  The  place  was  bom- 
barded and  laid  in  ashes. 

Ibrahim  Pasha  accomplished  by  intrigue  and  bribery  what 
his  father  failed  to  do  by  force  of  arms.  After  a  series  of  ad- 
vances one  tribe  after  another  was  detached  from  the  Wahabi 
government.  At  last  without  a  battle  the  capital  Deraiyah 
was  taken,  Abdullah  captured,  sent  to  Constantinople  and 
there  publicly  executed  on  December  i8th,  1818. 

The  Turks  were  naturally  jubilant  over  their  success  and 
thought  they  had  made  an  end  of  the  hated  Wahabis.  They 
soon  learned  their  mistake.  No  sooner  was  the  army  of 
Ibrahim  Pasha  withdrawn  than  the  old  spirit  rehabilitated  the 
fallen  empire  with  the  old  time  strength  of  fanaticism.  The 
army  of  the  Pashas  could  not  govern  or  even  occupy  the 
vast  territories  they  had  overrun.  Within  a  few  years  Turki 
the  son  of  the  late  Amir  was  proclaimed  Sultan  of  Nejd, 
recovered  all  and  more  than  his  father's  territories,  and 
by  the  judicious  payment  of  a  small  tribute  and  yet  smaller 
honor  to  the  Egyptian  Khedive  retained  the  throne  until 
he  was  murdered  in  1831.  His  son  and  successor, 
Feysul,  took  the  reins  of  government  and  was  rash  enough  to 
repudiate  the  Egyptian  Suzerainty.  Nejd  was  again  invaded. 
Hofhoof  and  Katif  were  temporarily  occupied  by  Egyptian 
and  Turkish  troops  and  Feysul  was  banished  to  Egypt. ^ 

Feysul  died  in  1865,  having  returned  from  his  banishment 
in  1843  ^'^^  ruling  alone  and  supreme  for  all  those  years.  His 
son  Abdullah,  who  had  acted  as  regent  during  the  later  years 

>  Palgrave  visited  the  Wahabi  capital  during  the  reign  of  Feysul  and 
gives  his  usual  picturesque  descriptions  of  the  court  and  family  life  of  the 
genial  tyrant.  But  it  is  necessary  to  take  his  accounts  of  Riad  cum 
grano  salts;  a  Jesuit  Roman  Catholic  would  not  describe  the  strict 
Puritanism  of  the  Wahabis  with  any  degree  of  admiration.  Palgrave's 
statistics  of  the  strength  of  Feysul's  army  and  of  the  population  of  his 
dominions  are  utterly  unreliable  and  greatly  exaggerated.  However  one 
must  read  Palgrave  to  know  what  was  the  condition  of  the  Wahabi  em- 
pire in  1860-63,  for  he  is  our  only  authority  for  that  period. 


THE   IVAHABI  RULERS  AND  REFORMERS  199 

of  Feysul,  succeeded  to  the  throne.  But  there  was  a  rival  in 
his  brother  Saud.  Intrigues,  treasons  and  violence  were  hatch- 
ing in  the  palace  courts  even  before  the  death  of  Feysul. 
The  dagger  and  the  coffee-cup  of  poisoned  beverage  have  al- 
ways been  favorite  weapons  in  seating  and  unseating  the  rulers 
of  Arabia.  A  prolonged  fight  ensued  between  the  two  brothers. 
Saud  was  at  first  successful  but  Abdullah  flying  to  Turkey  in- 
vited the  aid  of  that  power  with  the  result  that  an  expedition 
from  Bagdad  ended  in  formally  and  permanently  occuping  El 
Hassa  as  a  Turkish  province. 

At  the  time  of  Saud's  death,  in  1874,  the  conflict  was  re- 
newed, but  Abdullah  ultimately  regained  the  supremacy  and 
was  ruler  at  Riad  until  1886,  when  events  occurred  that  heralded 
the  rise  of  another  power  in  Nejd,  based  on  political  intrigue 
and  the  sword  rather  than  on  religion  and  fanaticism. 

When  Turki  the  Amir  was  murdered  by  his  own  cousin, 
Meshari,  and  Feysul  succeeded  to  the  throne,  there  was  pres- 
ent at  Riad  in  the  army  an  obscure  youth  from  Hail,  Abdullah 
bin  Rashid.  He  it  was  who  entered  the  palace  by  stealth, 
stabbed  Meshari,  and  helped  to  restore  Feysul  to  his  father's 
seat  as  ruler.  His  valor  and  loyalty  were  rewarded  by  bestow- 
ing upon  him  the  governorship  of  his  own  native  province 
Shammar ;  he  was  also  granted  a  small  army  to  strengthen  the 
Wahabi  rule  in  that  region.  He  soon  became  almost  as  strong 
as  his  master  and  showed  himself  an  expert  in  all  the  intrigue 
and  skill  possible  to  the  Arabs.  He  extended  his  personal  in- 
fluence on  all  sides,  built  a  massive  palace  at  Hail  and  defeated 
all  who  plotted  his  destruction.  Hired  assassins  dogged  him  on 
the  streets,  but  Abdullah  escaped  every  danger  and  his  star  re- 
mained in  the  ascendant.  In  1844  he  died  suddenly,  leaving 
unaccomplished  ambitions  and  three  sons,  Telal,  Mitaab,  and 
Mohammed.  Telal,  the  eldest  son,  was  proclaimed  ruler  and 
was  ever  more  popular  than  his  father  had  been,  and  no  less 
successful  as  a  ruler.  He  strengthened  his  capital,  invited 
merchants  from  Busrah  and  Bagdad  to  reside  there,  and  gradu- 


200  ARABIA,    THE   CRADLE   OF  ISLAM 

ally  but  surely  established  his  entire  independence  of  the  Wa- 
habi  ruler  at  Riad.  Tormented,  however,  by  an  internal 
malady  he  shot  himself  in  1867.  His  younger  brother,  Mitaab, 
who  succeeded,  ruled  very  briefly  and  was  murdered  by  his 
nephews,  the  sons  of  Telal,  within  a  year.  Meanwhile,  the 
third  son  of  Abdullah  bin  Rashid,  Mohammed,  had  been  a 
refugee  at  the  Riad  capital.  But  his  ambitions  now  found 
their  opportunity  and  his  true  character  was  revealed.  By  per- 
mission of  the  Amir  Abdullah  bin  Feysul  he  went  back  to  Hail. 
He  commenced  by  stabbing  his  nephew  Bander  who  had 
usurped  the  throne ;  he  then  killed  the  five  remaining  children 
of  his  brother  Telal  and  became  undisputed  Amir  at  Hail  in 
1868.  During  the  next  eighteen  years  he  consolidated  his 
authority.  His  rule  was  after  the  Arab  heart — with  a  rod  of 
iron  and  lavish  hospitality ;  continual  executions  and  continual 
feasting. 

The  Arabs  at  Bahrein  tell  many  almost  incredible  tales  of 
Mohammed  bin  Rashid's  stern  justice  and  speedy  method  of 
executing  it,  as  well  of  his  cruelty  to  those  who  resisted  his 
will.  In  those  days  the  public  executioner's  sword  was  always 
wet  with  blood ;  men  were  tied  to  camels  and  torn  asunder  ; 
but  the  desert-roads  were  everywhere  safe  and  robbers 
met  with  no  mercy.  As  an  indication  of  his  wealth  and 
hospitality  it  is  related  that  he  constructed  in  the  court- 
yard of  his  palace  a  stone-cistern  of  great  size  always  kept  filled 
with  that  best  of  Bedouin  dainties,  clarified  butter  (dihti).  A 
bucket  and  rope  were  at  hand  and  oil  was  dealt  out  as  freely  as 
water  to  the  honored  guests  of  the  great  ruler. 

In  the  year  1886  the  long-looked  for  opportunity  came  for 
Mohammed  bin  Rashid  to  complete  the  work  of  Telal.  He 
not  only  aspired  to  be  independent  of  the  Riad  rulers  but  to 
make  Riad,  the  Saud  dynasty  and  all  the  Wahabi  state  a  de- 
pendency of  his  Nejd  kingdom.  In  that  year  Amir  Abdullah 
bin  Feysul  was  seized  and  imprisoned  by  two  of  his  nephews, 
one  of  whom  usurped  the  throne,     Mohan^rued,  as  a  loyal  sub- 


THE    WAHARl  RULERS  AND  REEORMERS  201 

ject,  marched  to  the  rescue,  deposed  the  pretender,  but  carried 
the  Amir  himself  to  Hail,  leaving  a  younger  brother  as  his 
deputy  governor.  The  great  empire  of  the  Sauds  was  virtu- 
ally ended ;  henceforth  it  was  the  green  and  purple  banner  of 
Rashid  and  not  the  red  and  white  standard  of  the  Wahabis 
that  ruled  all  central  Arabia. 

Mohammed  bin  Rashid  had  shown  supreme  diplomatic  abil- 
ity in  all  his  dealings  with  the  Turks  from  the  day  of  his 
power  until  his  death.  He  humored  their  vanity  by  professing 
himself  an  ally  of  the  Porte ;  he  paid  a  small  annual  tribute  to 
the  Sherif  of  Mecca  in  recognition  of  the  Sultan.  But  for  the 
rest  he  never  loved  the  Turk  except  at  a  good  distance.  None 
of  the  Arabs  of  the  interior  have  forgotten  the  perfidy,  treach- 
ery and  more  than  Arab  cruelty  of  the  Egyptian  Pashas  in 
their  campaigns. 

In  1890  a  final  attempt  was  made  by  the  partisans  of  the  old 
dynasty  to  rebel  against  the  Amir  and  secure  the  independence 
of  Riad.  It  was  fruitless  ;  and  the  severe  defeat  of  the  rebels 
proved  it  final.  In  the  year  1897  Mohammed  bin  Rashid  died 
and  his  successor  Abd-el-Aziz  bin  Mitaab  now  rules  his  vast 
dominions.  He  is  less  stern  but  not  less  able  than  his  illustri- 
ous predecessor. 


XX 

THE   RULERS   OF   OMAN 

T>  EFORE  we  turn  to  the  history  of  the  Turks  in  Arabia  a  word 
is  necessary  regarding  the  rulers  of  Oman — that  province 
unique  in  Arabia  for  its  isolation  from  all  the  other  provinces  in 
the  matter  of  politics.  Prior  to  the  appearance  of  the  Portu- 
guese in  the  Persian  Gulf  (1506)  Oman  had  been  governed  for 
nine  hundred  successive  years  by  independent  rulers  called 
Imams ;  elected  by  popular  choice  and  not  according  to  family 
descent.  From  that  time  until  1650  the  Portuguese  remained  in 
power  at  Muscat,  In  1741  Ahmed  bin  Said,  a  man  of  humble 
origin,  a  camel-driver,  rose  by  his  bravery  to  be  governor  of 
Sohar,  drove  the  Persians  who  had  succeeded  the  Portuguese, 
out  of  Muscat  and  founded  the  dynasty  that  has  ever  since 
ruled  Oman.  As  early  as  i  798  the  East  India  Company  made 
a  treaty  with  the  Sultan  of  Muscat  to  exclude  the  French  from 
Oman.  This  fact  is  important  to  show  the  character  of  the 
recent  incident  at  Muscat. 

Seyid  Said,  who  ruled  from  1804  to  1856,  had  constant  strug- 
gles against  the  Wahabi  power  who  threatened  his  territory. 
With  England  he  joined  the  war  against  the  Wahabi  pirates ; 
and  made  treaties  in  1822,  1840  and  1845  ^o  suppress  the 
slave-trade.  On  the  death  of  Said  the  Sultanate  of  Oman  and 
Zanzibar  was  divided.  Seyid  Thowani  reigned  at  Muscat 
while  a  younger  brother  reigned  at  Zanzibar.  Thowani  was 
assassinated  at  Sohar  in  1866.  Salim,  his  son,  succeeded  him, 
although  he  was  suspected  of  patricide.  Then  there  was  an 
interregnum  under  a  usurper  until  Seyid  Turki  another  son  of 
Said  took  the  throne  in  187 1.  Continual  rebellion  marked  his 
period  of  rule.     But  he  was  friendly  to  the  English  and  in  re- 

202 


THE  RULERS  OF  OMAN  203 

turn  for  the  abolition  of  free  traffic  of  slaves  between  Africa  and 
Zanzibar  the  English  government  allowed  him  an  annual  sub- 
sidy of  a  little  over  ;^6,ooo  a  year.  In  1888  the  Sultan  died 
and  his  son,  Feysul  bin  Turki,  succeeded  him.  His  rule  was 
mild ;  from  the  palace  at  Muscat  his  influence  was  not  far- 
reaching  ;  rebellions,  inter-tribal  wars  and  plots  of  one  moun- 
tain-chief against  another  mark  all  the  years  of  his  reign  up  to 
date.  In  February,  1895,  there  was  a  serious  Bedouin  uprising 
in  which  the  Arabs  took  the  town  and  looted  it.  The  Sultan 
himself  barely  escaped  and  was  for  a  time  a  prisoner  in  his  fort 
while  the  town  was  in  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  The  cause  of 
the  trouble  was  a  difference  as  to  the  amount  of  yearly  tribute 
a  certain  Sheikh  Saleh  of  Samed  should  pay  the  Muscat  ruler. 
From  November,  1894,  the  rebels  collected  arms  and  strength- 
ened their  numbers  until  on  February  12th  of  the  following 
year  they  were  ready  to  strike  the  desired  blow.  As  this 
episode  was  characteristic  of  all  Arab  warfare  we  quote  a  brief 
account  of  it  sent  at  the  time  by  a  resident  at  Muscat  to  the 
Bombay  press  : 

"On  February  12th  Abdullah,  the  leader  of  his  father's 
(Sheikh  Saleh' s)  troops,  with  a  retinue  of  perhaps  200  armed 
Bedouins  arrived  at  Muscat  in  a  scattered  and  peaceable  man- 
ner, and  obtained  an  audience  with  the  Sultan.  A  musket 
salute  was  fired,  and  no  attack  was  thought  of.  The  Sultan 
presented  the  leader  with  a  purse  of  ^400  and  a  liberal  allow- 
ance of  rice,  dates,  coffee,  and  the  famous  Muscat  "halwa" 
for  the  men.  The  Bedouins  although  armed  were  allowed  to 
go  and  come  as  they  choose  and  no  attack  was  feared.  Sheikh 
Abdullah  himself  sat  for  a  time  in  the  bazaar  and  received  the 
salaams  of  the  people  who  kissed  his  hand  in  respect.  When 
evening  came  the  Sultan  requested  the  men  to  encamp  outside 
of  the  gates,  the  only  means  of  entrance  and  exit  through  the 
old  Portuguese  walls.  Although  failing  to  comply  with  the  re- 
quest the  Bedouins  claimed  none  but  peaceful  intentions.  At 
8  p.  M.  when  according  to  custom  the  gates  were  closed,  per- 


204  /iRABU,   THE  CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

haps  one-half  of  the  Bedouins  were  within  the  walls.  This  was 
their  Trojan  horse.  Shortly  after  midnight  the  gates  were  at- 
tacked, the  few  customary  guards  being  easily  overcome,  and 
thrown  open  to  the  large  numbers  of  Bedouins  who  up  to  this 
time  had  been  hiding  in  a  neighboring  mosque.  Both  the 
small  gate  leading  to  the  bazaar  and  the  larger  one  to  the  west 
of  the  town  were  easily  taken,  and  the  Bedouins  then  ad- 
vanced to  the  Sultan's  palace,  effected  an  entrance  and  rudely 
awoke  the  Sultan  and  his  family  from  their  sleep,  Seyyidi 
Esel  after  a  courageous  struggle  of  a  few  minutes,  (in  which  he 
shot  two  of  the  attacking  party,)  escaped  by  a  small  door  open- 
ing to  the  sea  and  fled  to  one  of  the  two  forts  which  command 
the  city  as  well  as  the  harbor.  His  brother  escaped  to  the 
other.  Each  of  these  forts  is  manned  by  a  force  of  perhaps 
fifty  men  and  has  several  old  twelve  pounder  Portuguese  guns. 

"The  forts  opened  fire  at  once  upon  the  palace  which  the 
Bedouins  now  occupied.  The  Bedouins  took  possession  of  the 
town  closing  the  gates  and  stationing  armed  men  through  the 
bazaar  and  streets  in  the  early  hours  of  the  13th  of  February. 

"A  few  shops  containing  muskets  and  ammunition  were 
opened,  and  the  contents  robbed.  The  Sultan's  palace  was 
completely  looted  and  all  his  personal  property  either  destroyed 
or  sold  at  any  price.  On  account  of  the  suddenness  of  the 
attack  there  was  but  a  small  number  of  the  Sultan's  soldiers  in 
readiness.  These  repaired  to  the  forts  and  opened  fire  upon 
the  Bedouin  invaders  with  both  the  guns  of  the  foils  and  mus- 
kets. For  three  days  we  were  the  witnesses  of  the  extraordi- 
nary spectacle  of  a  Sultan  bombarding  his  own  palace ;  no  at- 
tempt was  made  to  meet  the  rebels  on  the  streets.  By  order 
of  the  invading  captain  the  portion  of  the  town  inhabited  by 
British  subjects  was  not  entered.  Until  Sunday  evening  things 
remained  about  the  same.  The  attack  from  the  forts  was  con- 
tinued day  and  night.  The  Bedouins  did  not  answer  the  fire 
but  remained  in  the  palace  and  streets  holding  possessions  but 
making  no  attack  on  the  forts.    Within  the  town,  although  it  is 


THE  RULERS  OF  OMAN  205 

in  possession  of  the  enemy,  all  was  orderly  and  quiet.  Un- 
armed people  were  allowed  to  pass  to  and  fro  and  guards  were 
stationed  in  the  bazaar  to  prevent  plunder.  Reinforcements 
were  expected  by  both  parties.  On  Monday  morning  a  body 
of  about  I, GOO  arrived  from  the  coast  towns  in  aid  of  the  Sul- 
tan. They  encamped  beneath  the  fort  in  command  of  the  Sul- 
tan, and  at  about  8  a.  m.  made  an  attack  on  the  invaders, 
which  became  so  serious  a  danger  to  the  British  subjects  that 
the  Political  Agent  Major  J.  H.  Sadler  ordered  a  cessation  of 
hostilities  at  i  p.  m.  until  8  p.  m.  giving  the  British  subjects  an 
opportunity  to  sojourn  to  the  sheltered  village  of  Makalla. 
More  reinforcements  to  the  Sultan's  troops  arrived  at  6  p.  M. 
and  encamped  beneath  the  fort  throwing  temporary  barricades 
across  the  streets  at  several  advantageous  points.  The  main 
body  of  the  Bedouins  were  waiting  to  reinforce  just  outside 
Matral  which  village  was  however  still  in  the  hands  of  the  Sul- 
tan. At  8  A.  M.  on  Monday  H.  M.  S.  Sphina  arrived  from 
Bushire  and  at  2  p.  m.  the  R.  I.  M.  S.  Lawrence." 

The  British  gunboats,  contrary  to  the  expectations  and  fond 
hopes  of  the  population  of  Muscat,  did  not  interfere  in  the 
matter.  For  reasons  of  diplomacy  they  left  the  Sultan  to  fight 
his  own  battles  and  when  the  rebels  were  finally  persuaded  to 
leave  saddled  the  poor  Sultan  with  a  large  bill  for  the  damage 
incurred  by  British  subjects  during  the  attack. 

In  1894  a  French  consulate  was  established  at  Muscat ;  as 
the  French  have  no  commerce  to  speak  of  in  this  part  of  the 
world  the  object  of  the  consulate  was  evidently  political.  Of 
the  intrigues  that  resulted,  the  alleged  sale  of  a  coaling-station 
to  France  and  the  British  attitude  toward  the  matter  we  will 
speak  later. 


XXI 

THE   STORY   OF   THE   TURKS   IN   ARABIA 

"No  one  travels  in  Turkey  with  his  eyes  open  without  seeing  that  her 
government  is  a  curse  on  mankind.  Fears,  feuds  and  fightings  make 
miserable  the  councils  of  her  rulers.  They  are  bloodsuckers  fastened  on 
the  people  throughout  her  dominions  drawing  from  each  and  all  the  last 
drop  of  blood  that  can  be  extracted.  Turkey  skillfully  and  systematically 
represses  what  Christian  nations  make  it  their  business  to  nurture  in  all 
mankind  as  manhood.  In  her  cities  there  are  magnificent  palaces  for  her 
sultans  and  her  favorites.  But  one  looks  in  vain  through  her  realm  for 
statues  of  public  benefactors.  There  are  no  halls  where  her  citizens  could 
gather  to  discuss  policies  of  government  or  mutual  obligations.  Their 
few  newspapers  are  emasculated  by  government  censors.  Not  a  book  in 
any  language  can  cross  her  borders  without  permission  of  public  officers, 
most  of  whom  are  incapable  of  any  intelligent  judgment  of  its  contents. 
Art  is  scorned.  Education  is  bound.  Freedom  is  a  crime.  The  tax 
gatherer  is  omnipotent.  Law  is  a  farce.  Turkey  has  prisons  instead  of 
public  halls  for  the  education  of  her  people.  Instruments  of  torture  are 
the  stimulus  to  their  industries." — The  Congregationalist,  April  8,  1897. 

TN  reviewing  the  story  of  the  Turks  in  Arabia,  we  will 
-^  begin  with  Hejaz,  the  most  important  province  of  Turkey 
in  Arabia,  continue  with  Yemen,  the  most  populous,  and  end 
with  the  Mesopotamian  vilayets  which  were  her  richest  pos- 
sessions. 

It  is  not  generally  understood  how  highly  the  Sultan  values 
his  Arabian  provinces.  It  is  on  them  and  on  them  alone  that 
he  can  base  his  claim  to  the  title  of  caliph.  The  possession  of 
the  Holy  Cities  in  the  hands  of  the  Sultan  makes  him  the 
chief  Mohammedan  ruler ;  there  his  name  is  blessed  daily  in 
the  great  mosques ;   in   the  eyes  of  all  the  pilgrims  from  every 

206 


WE  STORY  OF  THE  TURKS  IN  ARABl/i  201 

part  of  the  ]\[oslem  world  Turkey  is  the  guardian  of  the  Kaaba. 
How  many  thousands  of  Mohammedans  daily  in  the  mosques 
of  India  and  Java  call  for  blessings  on  the  head  of  Abd-ul- 
Hamid  the  Caliph  who  would  never  pray  for  Abd-ul-Hamid 
the  Sultan. 

Mecca,  and  Hejaz  generally,  was  governed  by  the  early  Caliphs 
until  980  A.  D.,  when  it  passed  under  the  rule  of  the  first  Sherif, 
Jaafar.'  Under  Suleiman  the  magnificent  (1520-1566)  the  Otto- 
man Empire  reached  the  zenith  of  its  power  and  greatness ;  at 
that  time  Arabia  too  was  reckoned  a  Turkish  possession,  and  the 
entire  peninsula  was  included  on  the  maps  of  Turkish  Asia. 
But,  as  we  have  seen,  at  the  beginning  of  the  present  century 
the  Wahabis  and  not  the  Turks  were  the  real  rulers  of  Arabia. 
The  Arabs  have  never  taken  kindly  to  the  rule  of  the  Turk, 
but  the  province  of  Hejaz,  once  snatched  from  the  hand  of  the 
Wahabis,  has  ever  since  been  held  by  the  Sublime  Porte.  Plots 
of  rebellion  have  been  thick  and  Sherifs  have  succeeded  Sherifs 
but  the  fort  that  frowns  over  Mecca  has  always  a  strong  Turk- 
ish garrison  and  the  Pashas  eat  the  fat  of  the  land  at  the  ex- 
pense of  the  people. 

Actual  Turkish  rule  was  declared  over  the  whole  of  Hejaz 
in  1840.  At  that  time  Abd-el-Mutalib  was  made  Great  Sherif 
of  Mecca,  but  there  was  continual  trouble  between  the  Sherif 
and  the  Pasha.  The  religious  head  of  the  holy  city  would  not 
bow  to  the  political  head  ;  the  anti-slave  trade  regulations  al- 
though only  very  slightly  enforced  caused  riots.  The  Sherif 
was  deposed  and  Mohammed  bin  'Aun  declared  ruler  in  his 
place.  On  June  15th,  1858,  the  murder  of  certain  Christians 
at  Jiddah  brought  England  into  collision  with  the  rulers  of 
Hejaz.  Jiddah  was  bombarded  and  the  gate  to  the  holy 
city  was  held  by  the  Christian  powers  until  the  required 
indemnity  was  paid  and  the  murderers  punished.  The 
next   Sherif  appointed   was  Abdullah.     During  his  time  the 

1  The  history  of  Mecca  under  these  Sherifs  is  given  by  Snouck  Hur- 
gronje  at  length  in  his  "  Mekka." 


Q08  ARABIA,   THE  CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

opening  of  the  Suez  Canal  brought  Turkey  much  nearer  to 
Mecca  and  inspired  the  religious  zealots  with  the  fear  that 
now  the  Christian  fleets  would  attack  the  whole  coast  of 
Hejaz  !  For  had  not  the  vizier  of  Haroun  el  Rashid  dis- 
suaded that  monarch  from  his  plan  to  dig  the  canal  lest  the 
gateway  to  the  Holy  Cities  would  then  be  too  accessible  to  the 
infidels  ? 

The  Ottoman  government  introduced  other  horrors  into  the 
quiet  seclusion  of  the  ancient  city  of  Mecca ;  Jiddah  was  con- 
nected with  the  Red  Sea  cable ;  a  wire  carried  the  world  to 
Mecca  and  put  the  Pasha  in  daily  touch  with  the  Sublime 
Porte ;  afterward  it  was  extended  to  Taif,  and  the  Turks  were 
masters  of  their  own  army  corps,  so  that  the  Sherifs  could  not 
act  in  secret.  It  was  even  attempted  to  raise  a  Meccan  regi- 
ment for  the  Russian  war. 

In  1869  the  whole  complicated  bureaucratic  system  was 
introduced  at  Medina,  Jiddah,  Mecca  and  Taif.  Abdullah  was  a 
great  favorite  as  Sherif,  both  to  the  Arabs  and  the  Turks ;  he  was 
mild  and  given  to  all  sorts  of  compromise  so  that  he  managed 
to  please  both  parties  which  are  always  at  war  in  Mecca.  His 
brother  Husein  succeeded  as  Sherif  but  was  murdered  in  1880. 
In  the  same  year  the  aged  Abd-el-Mutalib  for  the  third  time 
became  Sherif  and  although  at  first  very  popular  he  soon  won 
the  hatred  of  the  conservative  Meccans  by  his  cruelty  and  of 
the  Turks  by  his  double-dealing.  On  request  of  the  people 
of  Mecca  for  his  deposition,  Othman  Pasha  came  to  Hejaz  and 
although  he  did  not  depose  the  aged  Sherif,  managed  to  outwit 
him  in  governing  the  city.  In  1882  Aun-er-Rafik,  a  brother 
of  Husein,  became  Sherif.  Troubles  between  the  dual  powers 
of  government  became  thick  and  the  Bedouin  tribes  took  the 
occasion  for  a  general  uprising.  Rafik  fled  to  Medina  and 
could  not  return  until  Othman  Pasha  was  deposed.  Since 
then  the  old  struggle  continues. 

The  Arabs  in  Hejaz  have  no  love  for  the  Turks  or  for  any 
Turkish  ruler;  the  Bedouin  tribes  hate  the  very  sight  of  a  red 


THE  STORY  OF  THE   TURKS  IN  ARABIA  209 

fez  and  the  town-dweller  is  ground  down  with  taxation.  Aside 
from  militarism  there  have  been  no  public  improvements  in 
either  of  the  Holy  Cities  since  the  Star  and  Crescent  Avaved 
from  their  forts.  The  "pantaloon-wearing"  Turks  are  con- 
sidered little  better  than  "Christian  dogs"  by  the  pious  folk 
of  Mecca.  Have  they  not  introduced  the  abomination  of 
quarantine  instead  of  the  old  time  simple  trust  in  Allah  ? 
Have  they  not  acquiesced  to  the  residence  of  Christian  consuls 
at  Jiddah  ?  And  what  is  worse,  have  they  not  interfered  with 
the  free  importation  of  slaves  and  the  manufacture  of  eunuchs 
for  the  residents  of  Mecca? 

The  following  literal  translation  of  a  placard  posted  every- 
where in  Mecca,  at  the  end  of  the  year  1885,  may  give  the 
best  insight  into  the  relations  that  exist  between  the  Turk  and 
the  Arab  in  the  cradle  of  Islam  : 

"  '  And  who  does  not  rule  according  to  the  revelation  of  Allah  he  is  an 
infidel.' — Koran  v.  48. 

"  Be  it  known  to  you,  ye  people  of  Mecca,  that  this  accursed  Wali  in- 
tends to  introduce  Turkish  laws  into  the  holy  city  of  Allah,  therefore 
beware  of  sloth  and  awake  from  sleep.  Do  not  suffer  the  laws  to  be  exe- 
cuted for  they  are  only  the  opening  of  the  door  to  further  legislation. 
Our  proof  is  that  the  Wali  Othman  Pasha  proposed  his  plan  to  divide 
Mecca  into  four  quarters  and  to  appoint  three  officers  for  each  quarter. 
This  plan  he  laid  before  the  city  council  and  when  they  declared  it  was 
impossible  to  do  this  in  Mecca  the  accursed  replied.  Is  Mecca  better 
than  Constantinople^?  We  will  carry  the  plan  through  by  force.  Yox 
this  reason,  O  Meccans,  an  association  has  been  formed  called  the  Mos- 
lem Club  and  whoever  desires  to  enter  it  let  him  make  inquiries.  The 
object  of  the  association  is  to  assassinate  this  cursed  Wali  and  his  chief  of 
police.  He  who  cannot  join  us  let  him  utter  his  complaint  before  Allah 
in  the  holy  house  that  the  public  safety  is  endangered  while  the  present 
ruler  lives.  And  this  cursed  Wali  also  attempts  to  secure  the  adminis- 
tration of  the  annual  corn-shipment  from  Egypt.  And  remember  also 
how  the  accursed  butchered  the  sons  of  the  Sherif  and  his  slaves  and  ex- 
posed their  heads  at  Mecca.  What  sort  of  deeds  are  these  ?  More 
atrocious  than  those  at  Zeer.  So  that  whoever  kills  this  man  will 
entsr  paradise  without  rendering  an  account.     The  purpose  of  dividing 


210  /IRABU,   THE  CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

the  city  appointing  Sheikhs  foi-  each  quarter  is  nothing  else  than  a  pretext 
for  new  taxations  as  the  Cursed  himself  let  out  before  the  council. 
"  In  the  name  of  the 

"  Jemiat-el-Islamiyeh." 

The  same  people  who  promised  paradise  to  the  murderer  of 
Othman  Pasha  rebelled  against  his  successor  Safwet  Pasha  and 
will  rebel  as  long  as  the  character  of  the  Meccan  remains  what 
it  is.  Those  who  dream  that  the  Turk  will  make  Mecca  the 
centre  of  their  power  when  Constantinople  falls,  know  not  the 
condition  of  affairs  among  the  proud  fanatics  of  Hejaz  who 
will  never  allow  Mecca  to  become  anything  but  the  city  of  the 
Sherifs.  And  as  for  the  Bedouin  tribes,  they  blackmail  every 
pilgrim  caravan  and  draw  heavy  subsidies  from  Constantinople 
to  keep  the  peace.  Jiddah  is  in  decay  and  the  pilgrim-traffic 
is  not  as  flourishing  as  it  was  a  decade  ago.  Even  in  Hejaz 
the  days  of  Ottoman  rule  are  numbered. 

Between  Hejaz  and  Yemen  is  the  region  of  Asir.  Its  popu- 
lation has  been  celebrated  from  the  earliest  times  for  personal 
bravery  and  courage.  Mountain-dwellers  they  love  freedom  ; 
belonging  to  the  Zaidee  sect  they  hate  the  Sunnites.  And  these 
two  reasons  united  made  them  abominate  the  Turks.  In  order 
to  extend  Ottoman  power  southward  and  reconquer  Yemen  for 
the  Sublime  Porte  it  was  necessary  to  pass  through  the  territory 
of  the  Asir  Arabs.  From  1824  to  1827  the  Turkish  troops 
carried  six  successive  campaigns  against  the  brave  highlanders 
but  were  in  every  case  repulsed  with  great  loss.  In  1833  and 
1834  the  attempt  was  again  made;  a  desperate  battle  was 
fought  on  August  21st  of  the  latter  year,  the  Turkish  troops 
were  victorious.  But  the  Arabs  rallied,  made  sorties  on  the 
garrisons,  famine  reigned,  fever  killed  off  many  and  in  September 
the  Turks  again  withdrew,  defeated.  In  1836  a  final  attempt 
was  made  to  conquer  Asir  ;  this  was  with  greater  loss  than  ever 
before.  To  this  day  the  entire  region  between  Taiz  and  Roda 
(a  icw  miles  north  of  Sana)  is  really  independent,  although 
marked  as  Turkish  on  the  maps.     The  Ottoman  troops  are  bold 


THE  STORY  OF  THE    TURKS  IN  ARABIA  211 

to  fight  the  Yemen  Arabs  to  the  very  gate  of  Sana  but  they  grow 
pale  when  they  hear  of  an  expedition  against  the  dare-devil 
Bedouins  of  Asir  who  fight  with  the  ferocity  of  the  American 
Indian  and  the  boldness  of  a  Sco'ch  Highlander. 

The  story  of  the  Turks  in  Yemen  is  very  inodern.  In  1630 
they  were  compelled  to  evacuate  Yemen  by  the  Arabs  and  they 
did  not  set  foot  in  the  capital  again  until  1873.  In  1871  the 
Imam  of  Yemen  lived  his  life  in  peace,  secluded  and  sensual 
like  an  oriental  despot  in  the  palace  at  Sana.  Looked  upon  by 
the  Arabs  as  a  spiritual  Sultan  he  was  great,  but  also  powerless 
to  hold  in  check  the  depredations  and  robberies  of  the  many 
tribes  under  his  nominal  sway.  Things  went  from  bad  to  worse. 
Trade  almost  ceased  on  account  of  the  attacks  on  the  caravans 
that  left  for  the  coast.  The  Sana  merchants,  quiet  and  respect- 
able Arabs,  saw  nothing  but  ruin  before  them,  and  considering 
solely  the  benefits  that  would  accrue  to  themselves  by  such  a 
step  invited  the  Turks  to  take  the  place.  They  did  not  consult 
the  large  agricultural  population  or  the  effect  of  Turkish  rule  on 
the  peasantry,  otherwise  there  would  have  been  an  equally  cor- 
dial invitation  to  the  Turks  to  stay  out  of  Yemen. 

The  Turks  needed  no  urging  at  this  time,  when  they  were 
strengthening  their  hold  on  Mesopotamia,  extending  their  con- 
quests in  Hassa  and  trying  to  obtain  the  mastery  of  the  Hejaz 
Bedouins.  It  fell  in  most  admirably  with  their  plans,  and  an 
expedition  set  out  at  once.  In  March,  1872,  an  army  under 
command  of  Ahmed  Mukhtar  Pasha  reached  Hodeidah.  On 
April  25th  the  army  entered  Sana  twenty  thousand  strong  and 
the  city  opened  its  gates  without  a  battle.  The  conquest  of  the 
country  now  proceeded ;  a  force  was  sent  to  the  region  of 
Kaukeban,  north  of  Sana,  another  to  the  southern  district  of 
Anes  and  still  another  to  Taiz  and  Mocha.  The  conquest  to- 
ward the  south  was  limited  by  the  presence  of  England  at  Aden. 
For  when  the  Turkish  army  advanced  to  the  domain  of  the 
independent  Sultan  of  Lahaj  who  had  a  treaty  with  England, 
the  British  Resident  at  Aden  sent  a  small  force  of  artillery  and 


212  ARABIA,   THE   CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

cavalry  to  occupy  the  Lahaj  territory.  In  consequence  of  rep- 
resentations made  at  the  same  time  by  the  Enghsh  govern- 
ment to  the  Sublime  Porte,  the  Turkish  army  withdrew  in  De- 
cember, 1873.  In  1875  the  tribes  bordering  the  southern  bound- 
ary of  Yemen  rebelled  against  Turkey  but  the  rebellion  was 
crushed. 

When  the  army  took  Sana  the  Imam  was  deposed,  but  on  ac- 
count of  his  religious  influence  over  the  Arabs  was  permitted  to 
reside  in  the  city,  receiving  a  pension  on  condition  that  he 
would  exert  himself  in  behalf  of  Ottoman  rule.  This  he  fulfilled 
until  his  death  when  the  birthright  as  Imam  passed  to  his 
relative  Ahmed-ed-Din  who  also  was  nothing  loth  to  receive  the 
honor  of  the  Arabs  and  the  money  of  the  Turks. 

Sana  received  a  certain  amount  of  civilization,  more  prestige 
and  still  more  commercial  prosperity  than  in  the  older  days. 
As  for  the  country  in  general  it  was  divided  and  subdivided  into 
provincial  districts  and  sub-districts ;  the  peasantry  were  taxed 
and  taxed  again ;  military  roads  were  constructed  by  forced 
labor.  The  hill-tribes,  who  in  the  times  of  the  Imam  had  been 
left  undisturbed  in  their  agriculture  and  who  boasted  an  inde- 
pendence of  centuries,  were  now  little  better  than  slaves.  Ex- 
tortion ruined  them ;  they  hated  the  personality  of  the  Turks 
whose  religion  was  not  as  their  own ;  discontent  smouldered 
everywhere  and  was  ready  to  burst  into  a  flame.  And  this  dis- 
content was  increased  from  year  to  year  as  the  caravan-drivers 
returned  from  their  long  journeys  to  Aden  and  told  of  the  greatest 
marvel  ever  heard  of — a  righteous  government  and  a  place 
where  justice  could  not  be  bought,  but  belonged  to  every  one — 
even  the  black  skinned  ignorant  Somali.  When  we  remember 
that  over  300,000  camels  with  their  drivers  enter  Aden  from  the 
north  every  year  we  can  realize  how  widespread  was  this  news. 
I  can  testify  to  the  worldwide  difference  between  the  municipal 
government  of  Aden  cantonment  and  that  of  the  capital  of 
Yemen  under  the  Turks  as  I  saw  it  in  1891.  When  the  Turks 
accused  England  of  fomenting  the  recent  rebellions  in  Yemen 


THE  STORY  OF  THE    TURKS  IN  ARABI  2V.^ 

they  were  right  to  the  extent  that  if  the  Yemen  peasantry  had 
not  seen  the  blessed  union  of  hberty  and  law  at  Aden  they  would 
not  seek  to  rise  against  the  Turks. 

In  the  summer  of  1892  a  body  of  400  Turkish  troops  were 
sent  to  collect  by  force  the  taxes  due  from  the  Bni  Meruan  who 
inhabit  the  coast  north  of  Hodeidah.  The  Turks  were  sur- 
prised by  a  large  body  of  Arabs  and  nearly  annihilated. 
Wherever  the  news  travelled  the  people  rose  in  arms.  Tribal 
banners  long  laid  away  were  unfurled  and  the  cry  "long  live 
the  Imam"  rang  through  mountain  and  valley.  A  new  Jehad 
was  proclaimed  and  Ahmed-ed-Din  was  unwillingly  forced  to 
take  the  leadership  against  the  Turks.  When  the  rebellion 
broke  out  the  Turks  had  only  about  15,000  men  in  the  whole 
of  Yemen  ;  and  cholera  had  wrought  havoc  among  these.  Ill- 
fed,  ill-clothed,  and  unpaid ;  badly  housed  in  the  rainy  and 
cold  mountain  villages,  they  could  nevertheless  fight  like  devils 
when  led  by  their  commanders.  The  Imam  escaped  from  Sana, 
and  a  few  days  later  the  capital  was  besieged  by  an  enormous 
force  of  Arabs.  All  the  unwalled  cities  fell  an  easy  prey  to 
the  rebels ;  Menakha  was  taken  after  a  short  struggle ;  Ibb, 
Jibleh,  Taiz,  and  Yerim  all  declared  themselves  for  the  Imam. 
The  Arabs  treated  their  foes  with  respect  after  their  victory  ;  ^ 
they  were  feeding  Turkish  prisoners  at  the  Imam's  expense  and 
in  many  cases  money  was  given  the  soldiers  to  enable  them  to 
escape  to  Aden. 

Meanwhile  telegrams  were  sent  to  Constantinople  from  Sana 
and  Hodeidah  beseeching  assistance.  The  whole  of  Yemen, 
with  the  exception  of  the  capital  and  two  smaller  towns  in  the 
north  with  Hodeidah  on  the  coast,  was  in  the  hands  of  the 
rebels.  An  expedition  reached  Hodeidah,  under  command  of 
Ahmed  Feizi  Pasha,  formerly  governor  of  Mecca,  which  after 
bombarding  the  villages  on  the  coast  north  of  Hodeidah, 
marched  to  the  relief  of  Sana.     Without  opposition  the  army 

'This  is  according  to  the  testimony  of  Walter  B.  Harris  who  was  in 
Yemen  shortly  after  the  rebellion. 


214  /ARABIA,   THE   CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

reached  Menakha  and  took  the  town  by  storm ;  match -locks 
and  fuse-guns  could  not  hold  out  against  field-guns  and  trained 
troops.  About  thirty  miles  beyond  a  desperate  attempt  was 
made  to  stop  the  army  of  relief;  in  a  narrow  defile  the  rebels 
under  Seyid  es-Sherai  took  up  their  position  and  for  twelve 
days  withstood  cavalry,  infantry  and  artillery  assaults;  then 
they  were  driven  back  and  retired  into  the  mountains.  By 
hurried  marches  the  troops  reached  Sana  and  took  the  city. 
Military  law  was  proclaimed  and  a  universal  massacre  of 
prisoners  took  place.  A  reward  was  offered  for  the  head  of 
every  rebel.  Camel-loads  of  heads  were  brought  into  Sana 
every  day.  The  troops  were  turned  loose  to  plunder  the  vil- 
lages. There  is  no  nation  in  the  world  that  can  put  down  a 
rebellion  as  rapidly  as  the  Turks  when  they  have  a  good-sized 
army,  but  they  have  great  objection  to  any  one  seeing  the 
process. 

By  the  end  of  January,  1893,  all  the  cities  of  Yemen  were 
reconquered  and  the  main  roads  were  again  open.  But  the 
spirit  of  rebellion  lived  on  and  the  brave  mountaineers  with- 
drew to  the  inaccessible  defiles  and  peaks  only  to  plot  further 
mischief.  Telegraph-wires  were  cut ;  soldiers  were  shot  on  the 
road ;  and  once  and  again  bold  attempts  were  made  to  blow 
up  the  Pasha's  house  in  Sana  with  gunpowder.  In  1895  there 
was  rebellion  in  the  north.  In  1897-98  all  Yemen  was  again 
in  arms  and  the  uncertain  and  conflicting  reports  that  reach 
the  coast  only  emphasize  the  serious  character  of  the  up- 
rising. 

On  the  map  and  in  Turkish  official  reports  the  boundaries 
of  Yemen  join  those  of  Hejaz  and  extend  many  miles  east  of 
Sana.  This  has  never  been  and  is  not  now  correct.  Twenty- 
five  miles  north  and  east  of  Sana  there  is  no  one  who  cares  for 
a  Turkish  passport  or  dares  to  collect  Turkish  taxes. 

As  to  the  future  of  Turkey  in  Yemen  it  is  difficult  to  sur- 
mise. Rather  than  risk  further  rebellions  the  Sultan  may 
adopt  a  conciliatory  policy.     But  Yemen  is  too  far  from  Con- 


THE  STORY  OF  THE   TURKS  IN  ARABIA  215 

stantinople  to  be  governed  from  there.  Extortion  is  the  only- 
way  open  to  a  Pasha  to  enrich  himself  and  for  soldiers  to  get 
daily  bread  where  wages  are  not  paid  on  time.  When  the 
Pasha  has  filled  his  pocket  his  successor  will  try  it  a  second 
time  and  come  to  grief.  Rebellion  will  be  the  chronic  state 
of  Yemen  as  long  as  Turkey  rules  at  Sana.  The  leopard  can- 
not change  his  spots. 

We  now  turn  to  notice  the  rule  of  the  Turks  in  Northeastern 
Arabia,  and  in  their  newly-acquired  province  of  Hassa. 
Bagdad  was  taken  by  the  Turks  in  1638  and  that  city 
has  ever  since  been  the  capital  of  a  Turkish  Province.  It 
is  unnecessary  to  enter  here  into  the  succession  of  Pashas 
and  rulers  and  the  attempts  to  subjugate  the  Bedouin  Arabs. 
In  1830  the  great  plague  visited  all  Mesopotamia  and  when 
epidemic  was  at  its  height  the  river  burst  its  banks  and  in  one 
night  15,000  people  perished.  In  1884  the  vilayet  of  Busrah 
was  separated  from  that  of  Bagdad  and  has  since  remained 
under  its  own  governor.  The  two  provinces  have  all  the 
machinery  of  Ottoman  rule  in  working  order.  Except  for  an 
occasional  outbreak  among  the  Montefik  Arabs,  Turkey  has 
no  trouble  to  hold  Mesopotamia  in  her  grasp.  Nor  is  she  at 
all  willing  that  this  rich  province  should  even  dream  of  pass- 
ing under  other  rulers.  In  the  year  1891  the  Turkish  Official 
Bulletin  gave  the  total  revenue  from  taxation  in  the  Bagdad 
vilayet  alone  at  246,304  Turkish  pounds. 

It  may  be  interesting  to  note  in  passing  the  various  sources 
of  taxation-money.  They  are  in  brief:  tax  on  Arab  tents,  ex- 
emption from  military  service,  tax  on  sheep,  buffaloes,  camels, 
tax  on  mines  (salt),  tax  on  special  privileges,  tax  on  forests  and 
timber,  tax  on  fishing,  custom  dues,  tax  on  shipping,  on  irriga- 
tion, on  farming  improvements;  "receipts  from  tribunals" 
(;^3,ooo  tax  on  justice  !  )  and  beside  all  this  "  taxes  diverses  " 
and  "revenues  diverses"  to  make  up  the  budget.  All  this  is 
legal,  ordinary  taxation.  But  the  actual  conditions  of  Turkish 
misrule  made  it  impossible  to  exercise  the  inalienable  rights  of 


216  ARABIA,    THE   CRADLE   OF  ISLAM 

"life,  liberty  and  the  pursuit  of  happiness  "  without  continual 
backsheesh  to  every  official. 

The  population  of  Mesopotamia,  Moslem  and  Jew  and 
Christian  are  thoroughly  weary  of  Turkish  misrule,  but  no  one 
dares  to  lift  up  a  voice  in  protest.  They  have  become  ac- 
customed to  it ;  and  there  is  nothing  else  but  to  bear  it  pa- 
tiently. As  for  the  nomads  they  have  either,  like  the  Montefik, 
settled  down  along  the  rivers  to  cultivate  the  soil  and  eke  out 
a  miserable  existence ;  or,  like  the  Aneyza  and  Shammar 
tribes,  they  are  as  thoroughly  independent  of  the  Sultan  as 
when  they  first  appeared  in  his  borders. 

Turkish  Arabia  on  the  north  is  represented  on  most  maps  by 
a  regular  curved  line  starting  from  the  Persian  Gulf  and  end- 
ing at  the  Gulf  of  Akaba ;  but  the  line  is  purely  imaginary. 
Turkish  rule  does  not  extend  far  south  of  the  banks  of  the 
Euphrates,  and  the  whole  desert  region  from  Kerbela  to  the 
Dead  Sea  and  the  Hauran  is  practically  independent.^  Out- 
side of  Bagdad  and  Busrah  even  the  river  towns  are  frequently 
threatened  by  the  nomads,  and  Turkish  soldiers  have  often  to 
guard  the  river  steamers  against  pirates.  Military  rule  is  in 
vogue  two  hundred  years  after  the  occupation  of  the  country, 
and  the  nomads  are  nomads  still.  The  commander-in-chief  of 
the  Sixth  Ottoman  army  corps  resides  at  Bagdad,  and  a  good 
number  of  soldiers  occupy  the  barracks  in  the  city  of  the  old 
caliphs. 

In  Turkey  all  Moslems  over  twenty  years  of  age  are  liable  to 
military  conscription,  and  this  liability  continues  for  over 
twenty  years.  Non-Moslems  pay  an  annual  exemption  tax  of 
about  six  shillings  per  head.  The  army  consists  of  Nizam  or 
regulars,  Redif  or  reserves,  and  Miistahfuz  or  national  guard. 
The  infantry  are  supposed  to  be  all  armed  with  Martini-Pea- 
body  rifles,  but  in  Mesopotamia  older  patterns  are  still  in  use. 
The  life  of  a  Turkish  soldier  is  not  enviable ;  and  none  of  them 
would  be  volunteers  for  government  service.  Tlie  Turkish 
'  See  Lady  Ann  Blunt's  "  Bedouins  of  the  Euphrates." 


THE  STORY  OF  THE    TURKS  IN  /IRABIA 


217 


navy  is  represented   in  the  Persian  Gulf  and  on  the  rivers  by- 
one  or  two  third-rate  cruisers  and  a  small  river  gunboat. 

The  result  of  the  calling  of  Turkey  into  the  Wahabi  quarrel 
between  the  two  sons  of  Feysul,  was  the  occupation  of  Katif 
and  Hassa  by  the  Ottoman  government.  Since  that  time  (1872) 
Hassa  has  been  a  part  of  the  Busrah  vilayet,  and  the  Pasha, 
who  resides  at  Hof  hoof,  has  the  title  Mutaserif  Pasha  of  Nejd. 
Continual  troubles  with  the  Arabs  mark  the  history  of  the  oc- 
cupation of  Hassa ;  the  caravan  routes  are  not  as  safe  as  in  the 
dominions  of  the  Amir  of  Nejd ;  the  whole  country  shows  de- 
cay and  lack  of  government ;  taxation  of  the  pearl  fishers  has 
driven  many  of  them  to  Bahrein ;  the  peninsula  of  Katar  is 
occupied  by  a  garrison,  but  that  does  not  prevent  continual 
blood  feuds  and  battles  between  the  Arab  tribes.  The  Otto- 
man government  has  established  an  overland  post-service  be- 
tween Hof  hoof  and  Busrah  has  between  Bagdad  and  Damascus, 
but  both  routes  are  unsafe  and  slow.  Most  of  the  Hof  hoof 
merchants  use  the  British  Post  Office  at  Bahrein  ;  and  so  do  the 
government  officials. 


Inscnplion  signifies 
Victory  is  of  God  and 
success  is  neaT" 


XXII 

BRITISH   INFLUENCE   IN   ARABIA 

"  The  English,  said  the  old  Arab  Sheikh  in  reply,  are  like  ants ;  if  one 
finds  a  bit  of  meat,  a  hundred  follow." — Ainsworth. 

"  Oman  may,  indeed,  be  justifiably  regarded  as  a  British  dependency. 
We  subsidize  its  ruler;  we  dictate  its  policy;  we  should  tolerate  no  alien 
interference.  I  have  little  doubt  myself  that  the  time  will  come  .  .  . 
when  the  Union  Jack  will  be  seen  flying  from  the  castles  of  Muscat." 

"  I  should  regard  the  concession  of  a  port  upon  the  Persian  Gulf  to  Rus- 
sia by  any  power  as  a  deliberate  insult  to  Great  Britain,  as  a  wanton  rup- 
ture of  the  status  quo  and  as  an  international  provocation  to  war;  and  I 
should  impeach  the  British  minister,  who  was  guilty  of  acquiescing  in 
such  surrender,  as  a  traitor  to  his  country." 

— Lord  Curzon,  Viceroy  of  India. 

IN  sketching  the  relations  of  England  to  the  peninsula,  we 
will  consider :  Her  Arabian  possessions  and  protectorates  ; 
her  supremacy  in  Arabian  waters ;  her  commerce  with  Arabia  ; 
her  treaties  with  Arab  tribes ;  and  her  consulates  and  agencies 
in  Arabia. 

Of  all  British  possessions  in  Arabia,  Aden  is  by  far  the  most 
important,  on  account  of  its  strategic  position  as  the  key  not 
only  of  all  Yemen,  but  of  the  Red  Sea  and  all  Western  Arabia. 
Aden  was  visited  as  early  as  1609  by  Captain  Sharkey  of  the 
East  India  Company's  ship  "  Ascension."  He  was  at  first  well 
received,  but  afterward  imprisoned  until  the  inhabitants  had 
secured  a  large  ransom.  Two  of  the  Englishmen  on  board  re- 
fusing to  pay  were  sent  to  the  Pasha  at  Sana.  In  1610  an 
English  ship  again  visited  Aden  and  the  crew  were  treacher- 
ously treated.     In  1820,  Captain  Haines  of  the  Indian  navy 

818 


BRITISH  INFLUENCE  IN  ARABIA  219 

visited  Aden,  and  in  1829  the  Court  of  Directors  entertained 
the  idea  of  making  Aden  a  coaling-station,  but  the  idea  was 
abandoned.  In  consequence  of  an  outrage  committed  on  the 
passengers  and  crew  of  a  buggalow  wrecked  near  Aden,  an  ex- 
pedition was  despatched  against  the  place  by  the  Bombay  gov- 
ernment in  1838.  It  was  arranged  that  the  peninsula  of  Aden 
should  be  ceded  to  the  British.  But  the  negotiations  were  any- 
thing but  friendly,  and  in  January,  1839,  a  force  of  300  Euro- 
peans and  400  native  troops  in  the  "  Volage  "  and  "  Cruizer  " 
bombarded  and  took  the  place  by  storm. 

This  was  the  first  new  accession  of  territory  in  the  reign  of 
Queen  Victoria.  Immense  sums  of  money  have  been  spent  in 
fortifying  this  natural  Gibraltar  and  in  improving  its  harbor. 
Four  times  the  Arabs  have  attempted  to  take  Aden  by  land, 
each  time  with  fearful  loss  and  without  success.  By  sea  Aden 
is  impregnable ;  only  the  initiated  know  the  strength  of  its  mole- 
batteries,  mines,  forts  and  other  defences ;  and  every  year  new 
defences  are  constructed  and  old  ones  strengthened.  Aden  has 
become  a  great  centre  for  trade,  and  is  one  of  the  chief  coaling 
depots  in  the  world.  It  bars  the  further  advance  of  Turkey 
into  South  Arabia,  guarantees  independence  and  good  govern- 
ment to  all  the  neighboring  petty  states,  and  is  an  example  of 
good  government  to  all  Arabia  and  the  African  coast.  The  set- 
tlement is  politically  subject  to  the  Bombay  Presidency  and  is 
administered  by  a  Resident  with  two  assistants.  Since  the 
opening  of  the  Suez  canal,  trade  has  steadily  increased  and 
Turkish  custom  extortions  at  Hodeidah  direct  the  caravan  trade 
more  and  more  to  Aden  from  every  part  of  Yemen. 

The  island  of  Socotra  and  the  Kuria  Muria  islands  are  also 
attached  to  Aden,  together  with  the  Somali  Coast  in  Africa. 
Socotra  has  an  area  of  1,382  square  miles  and  about  10,000 
inhabitants.  It  came  under  British  protection  in  1886  by  treaty 
with  its  Sultan.  The  Kuria  Muria  group  was  ceded  to  the 
British  by  the  Sultan  of  Muscat,  for  the  purpose  of  landing  the 
Red  Sea  cable ;  the  islands  are  five  in  number  and  have  rich 


220  ARABIA ,   THE  CRADLE   OF  ISLAM 

guano  deposits.  The  island  of  Kamaran  is  also  classed  as  be- 
longing to  the  British  Empire.'  It  is  a  small  island  in  the  Red 
Sea,  some  miles  north  of  Hodeidah ;  it  is  only  fifteen  miles 
long  and  five  wide,  and  has  seven  small  fishing-villages.  But 
it  has  a  good  sheltered  anchorage  and  is  the  quarantine  Station 
for  all  Moslem  pilgrims  from  the  south  to  Mecca. 

The  Bahrein  Islands  are  also  included  in  the  British  Empire, 
although  Turkey  still  claims  them  as  her  own  and  the  native 
ruler  imagines  that  he  is  independent.  "The  present  chief 
Sheikh  Isa  owes  the  possession  of  his  throne  entirely  to  British 
protection  which  was  instituted  in  1867.  Sheikh  Isa  was  again 
formerly  placed  under  British  protection  in  1870  when  his  rivals 
were  deported  to  India."  The  Political  Resident  at  Bushire 
superintends  the  government  of  the  islands  to  as  great  an  ex- 
tent as  is  deemed  diplomatic. 

Perim  at  the  southern  end  of  the  Red  Sea  was  taken  pos- 
session of  in  1799  by  the  East  India  Company  and  a  force  was 
sent  from  Bombay  to  garrison  the  island.  But  it  was  found 
untenable  at  that  time  as  a  military  position  and  the  troops 
were  withdrawn.  Perim  was  reoccupied  in  the  beginning  of 
1857.  The  lighthouse  was  completed  in  1861,  and  quarters 
were  built  for  a  permanent  garrison. ^ 

We  may  also  consider  the  possessions  of  Egypt  in  Arabia  as 
practically  under  English  protection.  Since  the  British  occu- 
pation, the  peninsula  of  Sinai  and  the  Red  Sea  literal  on  the 
Arabian  side,  nearly  as  far  as  Yembo  is  under  the  Governor- 
General  of  the  Suez  canal. 

England  not  only  possesses  the  key  positions  on  the  coasts  of 
Arabia,  but  has  for  many  years  held  the  naval  supremacy  in  all 
Arabian  waters.  As  the  Dutch  succeeded  the  Portuguese  and 
established  trading-stations  in  the  Persian  Gulf  and  in  the  Red 
Sea,  so  England   followed  the  Dutch.     The  East  India  Com- 

•  Statesman's  Year  Book. 

2  For  a  complete  account  of  Perim,  see  "The  Description  and  History 
of  Perim,"  by  J.  S.  King,  Bombay,  1S77. 


BRITISH  INFLUENCE  IN  ARABIA  221 

pany  was  at  Aden  and  Mocha  in  the  beginning  of  the  seven- 
teenth century,  and  in  1754  the  English  East  India  Company 
established  itself  at  Bunder  Rig,  north  of  Bushire,  and  later  at 
Bushire  itself,  supplanting  the  Dutch.  The  island  of  Karak 
in  the  north  of  the  Gulf  was  twice  occupied  by  the  British,  in 
1838  and  in  1853.  After  the  bombardment  of  Bushire  in  1857 
and  of  Mohammerah  in  the  same  year,  hostilities  ceased  and 
Karak  was  again  evacuated.  The  island  of  Kishm,  in  the 
southern  part  of  the  Gulf,  was  during  the  greater  part  of  the 
present  century,  a  British  military  or  naval  station.  The  Indian 
naval  squadron  had  its  headquarters  first  at  El  Kishm,  then  at 
Deristan  and  finally  for  many  years  at  Bassadore.  In  1879 
because  of  the  insalubrity  of  the  climate  the  last  company  of 
Sepoys  was  withdrawn  to  India.  But  the  island  is  still  in  a 
sense  considered  British.  As  early  as  1622  the  Persians  and 
the  British  expelled  the  Portuguese  from  Ormuz  and  shortly 
after,  in  common  with  the  Dutch  and  French  set  up  trading 
factories  at  Gombrun,  (now  Bunder  Abbas).  In  1738  the  Eng- 
lish Company  established  an  agency  at  Busrah  and  much  of 
their  Gulf  business  was  shifted  to  that  port.  Since  1869  there 
has  been  a  telegraph  station  at  Jask  with  a  staff  of  six  English 
officials  ;  here  the  land  and  marine  wires  of  the  Indo-European 
telegraph  meet  and  join  India  to  the  Gulf. 

The  Sultanate  of  Oman,  since  1822,  has  been  in  the  closest 
relations  possible  with  British  naval  power.  At  several  critical 
periods  in  Oman  history,  it  was  Great  Britain  that  helped  to 
settle  the  affairs  of  state.  In  1861  a  British  commissioner  ar- 
bitrated between  two  claimants  for  the  rule  of  Muscat  and 
Zanzibar,  then  one  kingdom,  and  divided  the  Sultanate.  Since 
1873  the  Sultan  of  Muscat  has  received  an  annual  subsidy 
from  the  British  government.  Near  Cape  Musendum,  on  the 
Arabian  side  of  the  Gulf,  the  British  once  occupied  a  place 
called  Malcolm's  Inlet  when  they  were  laying  the  telegraph 
cable  from  Kerachi  to  the  Gulf  in  1864.  Five  years  later  it 
was  transferred  to  Jask.     From  1805  to  1821  there  were  British 


222  ARABIA,   THE   CRADLE   OF  ISLAM 

naval  encounters  with  the  pirates  of  the  Gulf,  and  since  that  date 
all  piracy  in  these  waters  has  ceased.^  British  naval  supremacy 
established  peace  at  Bahrein  and  has  protected  its  native  govern- 
ment since  1847.  When  in  1867  the  native  ruler,  "  a  crafty  old 
fox"  as  Curzon  calls  him,  broke  the  treaty,  the  bombardment 
of  Menamah  brought  further  proof  of  British  naval  supremacy. 
Kuweit  was  for  a  time  (1821-22)  the  headquarters  of  the 
British  Resident  at  Busrah ;  and,  semi-independent  of  Turkey, 
is  now  becoming  wholly  dependent  on  England — another  indi- 
cation of  British  naval  supremacy.  Even  at  Fao,  Busrah 
and  Bagdad  British  gunboats  often  keep  the  peace  or  at  least 
emphasize  authority.  In  a  word  Great  Britain  holds  the  scales 
of  justice  for  all  the  Persian  Gulf  litoral.  She  guarantees 
a  pax  Brittanica  for  commerce ;  she  taught  the  Arab  tribes 
that  rapine  and  robbery  are  not  a  safe  religion ;  where  they 
once  swept  the  sea  with  slave-dhows  and  pirate-craft  they  have 
now  settled  down  to  drying  fish  and  diving  for  pearls.  For  the 
accomplishment  of  this  subject  England  has  spent  much  both 
in  treasure  and  in  lifeblood.  Witness  the  graves  of  British 
soldiers  and  marines  in  so  many  Gulf  ports.  The  testimony  of 
an  outsider,  is  given  in  a  recent  article  in  the  Cologtie  Gazette, 
which  thus  describes  the  political  and  naval  supremacy  of 
England  in  Eastern  Arabia  and  the  Persian  Gulf : 

"A  disguised  protectorate  over  Oman  and  control  over  the 
actions  of  the  Sultan  of  Muscat ;  actual  protectorate  over  Bah- 
rein ;  coaling  station  on  the  island  of  Kishm,  in  the  Straits  of 
Ormuz ;  presence  of  a  political  Resident  at  Bushire  who,  with 
the  help  of  an  association  called  the  Trucial  League,  decides 
all  disputes  between  Turkish,  Arab,  and  Persian  chiefs  in  the 
Persian  Gulf.  .  .  .  This  league  gives  the  English  a  con- 
stant pretext  for  intervention  ;  the  object  of  keeping  peace  and 
policing  the  gulf  is  only  a  pretence.  ...  All  events  on 
the  Persian  Gulf,  however  disconnected  apparently,  are  really 

"Treaties  were  made  with  the  Arabs  of  the  pirate  coast  in  1835,  ^^3^* 
^839,  1847,  ^1853,  and  1S56;  of  these  we  shall  speak  later. 


BRITISH  INFLUENCE  IN  ARABIA  223 

dependent  on  each  other  through  the  Trucial  League.  It  is  a 
confused  tangle  of  hatreds  and  jealousies  whose  threads  are 
united  in  the  hands  of  the  Resident  at  Bushire.  .  .  .  Rus- 
sia shows  an  indifference  which  is  quite  incomprehensible  con- 
sidering the  interest  she  has  and  must  have  in  these  affairs. 
One  could  recount  numerous  instances  where  English  agents 
have  injured  Russian  interests  without  meeting  with  any  oppo- 
sition. The  Russian  Consul  in  Bagdad  is  thrust  into  the 
background  by  the  activity  of  his  British  colleague.  Southern 
Persia,  the  gulf,  Eastern  Arabia,  and  the  Land  of  Oman  have 
fallen  completely  within  the  English  sphere  of  influence.  This 
state  of  affairs  has  not  been  officially  ratified,  but  exists  as  a 
fact.  That  will  last  till  some  movement  comes  about  to  restore 
the  proper  balance.  Meanwhile,  the  English  are  the  masters. 
They  are  so  accustomed  to  manage  the  whole  Persian  Gulf  that 
if  the  least  thing  occurs  that  they  have  not  foreseen  or  them- 
selves arranged  they  completely  lose  all  self-control." 

But  the  supremacy  of  England  in  the  Gulf  and  on  the  other 
coasts  of  Arabia  is  hers  not  only  because  of  gunboats  and  gun- 
powder. It  is  most  of  all  by  the  arts  of  peace  that  she  has 
established  and  glorified  her  power  on  the  Arabian  litoral.  It 
must  never  be  forgotten,  for  example,  that  the  magnificent 
surveys  of  the  entire  4,000  miles  of  Arabian  coast  were  the 
work  of  British  and  Indian  naval  officers  ;  by  means  of  this 
survey,  completed  at  great  cost,  commerce  has  been  aided  and 
navigation  of  the  dangerous  waters  east  and  west  of  Arabia  has 
been  made  safe.  England  too  is  the  only  power  that  has 
established  lighthouses;  e.  g.,  at  Aden,  Perim,  in  the  Red  Sea 
and  lately  on  Socotra.  England  laid  the  cables  that  circle 
Arabia ;  from  India  to  Bushire  and  Fao  connecting  with  the 
Turkish  overland  telegraph  system ;  from  Aden  to  Bombay 
and  from  Aden  to  Suez  through  the  Red  Sea.  These  cables 
were  not  the  work  of  a  day  but  were  laid  with  great  expense 
and  opposed  by  the  very  governments  they  were  intended  to 
benefit. 


224  ARABIA,   THE  CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

Again,  Arabia  has  two  postal  systems  and  two  only.  In  the 
Turkish  province  of  Yemen  there  is  a  weekly  post  between  the 
capital  and  the  chief  towns  to  the  coast ;  in  Hejaz  there  is  a 
post  to  Mecca ;  and  in  Mesopotamia  and  Hasa  there  is  another 
Turkish  postal  system  notorious  for  its  slowness  and  insecurity. 
For  the  rest  all  of  Eastern  and  Southern  Arabia  are  dependent 
on  the  Indian  Postal  system ;  the  whole  interior  is  ignorant 
of  a  post  office  or  of  a  postman.  The  government  of  India 
has  post  offices  at  Muscat,  Balirein,  Fao,  Busrah  and  Bagdad 
with  regular  mail  service,  and  the  best  administration  in  the 
world.  The  English  post  carries  the  bulk  of  the  mail  between 
Busrah  and  Bagdad  while  Bahrein  is  really  the  post  office  for 
all  Eastern  Arabia  ;  pearl-merchants  at  Katar  and  in  Hasa 
mail  their  letters  at  Bahrein  and  even  the  Turkish  government 
needs  the  English  post  to  communicate  with  Busrah  from 
Hasa. 

England  has  also  earned  her  supremacy  in  Arabian  waters 
by  honest  attempts  to  put  a  stop  to  the  slave-trade,  in  accord 
with  the  Anti-slave  Trade  treaties  between  the  powers.  She  is 
the  only  power  whose  navy  has  acted  in  seizing  slave-dhows, 
liberating  slaves  and  patrolling  the  coast.  The  work  has  not 
always  been  done  thoroughly  or  vigorously,  but  that  it  has 
been  done  at  all,  places  England  first  among  the  powers  that 
sail  in  Arabian  waters. 

Where  the  Union  Jack  proclaims  naval  supremacy,  there  the 
red  mercantile  flag  of  England  follows  the  blue  and  carries 
commerce;  the  two  go  together,  and  although  of  different 
color  are  the  same  flag  to  Englishmen.  The  world-wide  com- 
mercial activity  of  Great  Britain  has  touched  every  part  of  the 
Arabian  coast  and  British  wares  from  Manchester  and  Birming- 
ham have  penetrated  to  every  secluded  village  of  Nejd,  and  are 
found  in  every  valley  of  Yemen. 

The  mercantile  navigation  of  the  Gulf  as  it  now  exists  is 
the  creation  of  the  last  thirty  years,  and  is  largely  to  be  attrib- 
uted to  the  statesmanship  of  Sir  Barlle  Frere.     It  was  he  who, 


BRITISH  INFLUENCE  IN  ARABIA  225 

when  at  Calcutta  as  a  member  of  Lord  Canning's  Supreme 
Council,  befriended  the  young  Scotchman,  William  Mackin- 
non,  who  was  planning  a  new  shipping  business  beyond  his 
slender  means;  and  a  subsidy  was  granted  to  Mackinnon's 
new  line  of  Steamers.  Thus  it  was  that  the  British  India  Steam 
Navigation  Company  was  launched  which  first  opened  trade 
not  only  with  Zanzibar  but  in  the  Persian  Gulf.  In  1862  not 
a  single  mercantile  steamer  ploughed  the  Persian  Gulf.  A 
six-weekly  service  was  then  started,  followed  by  a  monthly,  a 
fortnightly  and  finally  by  a  weekly  steamer.  From  Busrah 
there  are  two  lines  of  English  steamers  direct  for  London.  The 
British  India  was  the  pioneer  line  and  still  holds  the  first  posi- 
tion, although  there  are  other  lines  that  do  coasting  trade  with 
India. 

Thus  English  commerce  controls  not  only  the  markets  of  both 
sides  of  the  Gulf,  but  of  all  Northwestern  Arabia  and  as  far  be- 
yond Bagdad  as  piece-goods  and  iron-ware  can  be  carried  on 
camels.  There  is  not  a  spool  of  thread  in  Nejd  or  a  jack-knife 
in  Jebel-Shammar  that  did  not  come  up  the  Persian  Gulf  in  an 
English  ship.  All  of  Hassa  eats  rice  from  Rangoon  and  thou- 
sands of  bags  are  carried  in  British  ships  to  Bahrein  to  be  trans- 
ported inland  by  caravan.  Not  only  is  the  steamshipping  mostly 
in  English  hands,  but  many  of  the  native  buggalows  fly  the 
British  flag  and  the  chief  merchants  are  Englishmen  or  British 
subjects  from  India.  The  Rupee  is  the  standard  of  value  along 
the  whole  Arabian  coast  from  Aden  to  Busrah.  In  the  interior 
the  Maria  Theresa  dollar  has  long  held  sway,  but  even  that  is 
becoming  scarce  among  the  Bedouins  and  they  have  little  pref- 
erence between  the  '' abit  bint''  (the  Rupee  with  a  girl's  head) 
and  the  ^^  abii  fair''  ("the  father  of  a  bird" — the  eagle  on 
the  Austrian  dollar).  For  a  time  a  French  line  of  steamers  ran 
in  the  Gulf  but  the  project  was  abandoned,  though  there  is  now 
a  rumour  of  its  revival.^ 

1  The  British  India  steamer,  carry  the  mails  and  leave  Bombay  and 
Busrah  once  a  week,  touching  at  the  intermediate  ports  iu  the  Gulf,  after 


226  ARABIA,   THE  CRADLE   OF  ISLAM 

Aden  is  the  commercial  centre  for  all  Southern  Arabia  and 
the  enormous  increase  of  its  trade  since  1839  is  proof  of  what 
English  commerce  has  done  for  Yemen.  Mocha  is  dead,  and 
Hodeidah  is  long  since  bed-ridden,  but  Aden  is  alive  and  only 
requires  a  railroad  to  Sana  to  become  the  commercial  capital  of 
all  Western  and  Southern  Arabia.  That  railroad  will  be  built 
as  soon  as  the  Turk  leaves  Yemen's  capital ;  God  hasten  the 
day.  After  the  occupation  of  Aden  in  1839  until  the  year 
1850  customs  dues  were  levied  as  in  India  but  at  that  time 
it  was  declared  a  free  port.  During  the  first  seven  years  the 
total  value  of  imports  and  exports  averaged  per  year  about 
1,900,000  Rupees;  in  the  next  seven  years  the  annual 
average  rose  to  6,000,000  Rupees,  and  it  has  been  on  the 
increase  ever  since,  until  it  now  is  over  30,000,000  Rupees ; 
nor  did  this  annual  average  include  the  trade  by  land  which  is 
also  large. 

The  Suez  canal  is  another  indication  of  the  prestige  which 
English  commerce  has  in  the  Red  Sea  and  along  the  routes  of 
traffic  that  circle  Arabia.  In  1893  the  gross  tonnage  that  passed 
through  the  canal  was  10,753,798  ;  of  this  7,977,728  tons  passed 
under  the  English  flag  which  means  that  nearly  four-fifths  of 
the  trade  is  English.  In  the  same  year  the  number  of  vessels 
passing  through  the  canal  was  3,341  of  which  2,405  belonged 
to  Great  Britain. 

The  proposed  Anglo-Egyptian  railway  across  the  north  of 
Arabia  will  join  the  Persian  Gulf  to  the  Mediterannean.  To 
shorten  the  time  of  communication  between  England  and  her 
Eastern  Empire  is  evidently  a  matter  of  the  highest  importance, 
not  only  for  commerce  and  post,  but  in  the  event  of  war,  mutiny 
or  other  great  energency.  The  first  surveys  for  this  overland 
railway  were  made  as  early  as  1850,  by  the  Euphrates  Expedition 
under  General  Chesney.     The  scheme  was  warmly  advocated 

Kerachi,  as  follows :  Gwadur,  Muscat,  Jask,  Bunder  Abbas,  Lingah,  Bah- 
rein, Bushire,  Fao  and  Mohammerah  ;  the  journey  lasts  a  fortnight  and  the 
distance,  zigzag,  is  about  one  thousand  nine  hundred  miles. 


BRITISH  INFLUENCE  IN  ARABIA  227 

in  England  by  Sir  W.  P.  Andrew,  the  Duke  of  Sutherland  and 
others,  but  although  it  still  awaits  execution  the  plan  comes  up 
again  every  few  years  with  new  advocates  and  new  improve- 
ments. Once  it  was  to  be  the  Euphrates  Valley  railway  coming 
down  to  Bagdad  and  Busrah  or  to  Kuweit  (Grane)  by  way  of 
Mosul.  Now  the  plan  proposed  is  to  open  a  railway  from  Port 
Said  due  eastward  across  the  Peninsula  along  the  thirtieth  paral- 
lel of  latitude  to  Busrah.  A  branch  would  deviate  a  little  to  the 
south  to  the  port  of  Kuweit  which  was  also  the  proposed  ter- 
minus of  the  Euphrates  Valley  line  on  which  a  select  committee 
of  the  House  of  Commons  sat  twenty-five  years  ago.  From 
Busrah  the  main  line  would  cross  the  Shatt-el-Arab  and  the 
Karun  by  swing-bridges  and  follow  the  coast-line  of  the  Persian 
Gulf  and  Makran  to  Karachi.  Such  a  line  would  reduce  the 
time  occupied  in  transit  between  London  and  Kerachi  to 
eight  days.'  Whether  this  route  or  any  other  is  followed  is 
a  matter  of  minor  importance.  The  fact  that  since  1874 
England  has  been  to  the  front  in  the  matter  of  the  overland 
railroad  puts  it  beyond  a  doubt,  that  when  the  railway  is 
built  its  terminus  at  least  will  be  under  English  control  and 
most  probably  the  whole  road  will  represent  English  capital 
and  enterprise. 

Meanwhile  there  is  intelligence  that  Turkey  has  made  a  con- 
cession to  German  capitalists  for  the  extension  of  the  Anatolian 
railways  to  Bagdad.  The  line  which  runs  from  the  Asiatic 
shores  of  the  Bosphorus  to  Angora  is  in  the  hands  of  a  German 
syndicate  and  the  terms  of  the  concession  contain  compulsory 
clauses  under  which,  in  certain  eventualities,  the  Turkish 
government  can  compel  the  syndicate  to  extend  the  road  to 
Sivas  and  ultimately  to  Bagdad.^     But  politically  Great  Britain 

■  In  a  recent  paper  read  before  the  Society  of  Arts  in  London  Mr.  C.  E. 
D.  Black  of  the  Geographical  Department  of  the  India  office  urges  other 
reasons  for  the  practicability  of  this  route. — (London  Times,  May  7th, 
1898.) 

2  Times  of  India,  June  17,  1899. 


228  ARABIA,    THE   CRADLE   OF  ISLAM 

has  little  to  fear  from  the  spread  of  German  influence  in  the 
Levant  and  Mesopotamia.  The  editor  of  an  influential  Eng- 
lish paper  says,  "  Every  mark  expended  by  the  Germans  upon 
public  works  in  the  Asiatic  dominions  of  the  Sultan  helps  to 
build  up  the  bulwark  against  the  menace  of  Russia.  And 
the  creation  of  a  German  railway  in  Asia  Minor  will,  in  a 
limited  degree  tend  to  identify  the  interests  of  Germany  and 
Great  Britain."  Nevertheless  England  would  never  grant  a 
terminus  or  harbor  to  a  German  railroad  syndicate  on  the 
Persian  Gulf. 

Great  Britain  has  treaties  or  agreements  of  some  sort  with 
every  tribe  and  settlement  of  Arabs  from  Aden  to  Muscat  and 
thence  to  Bahrein.  England  has  two  kings  for  Arabia;  the 
first  lives  at  Bushire  and  is  called  the  British  Resident  and 
Consul  General,  the  other  with  a  similar  title  lives  at  Aden. 
Of  the  Busliire  Resident  Lord  Curzon  wrote,  "One  or  more 
gunboats  are  at  the  disposal  of  the  British  Resident  at  Bushire 
who  has  also  a  despatch  boat  for  his  own  immediate  use  in  the 
event  of  any  emergency.  Not  a  week  passes  but,  by  Persians 
and  Arabs  alike,  disputes  are  referred  to  his  arbitration,  and 
he  may  with  greater  truth  than  the  phrase  sometimes  conveys 
be  entitled  the  Uncrowned  King  of  the  Persian  Gulf."  To 
the  energy  and  political  capacity  of  Colonel  Ross  and  his 
capable  predecessor,  Sir  Lewis  Pelly,  this  royal  throne  owes  its 
foundation.  All  the  treaties  made  by  England  with  the  Arab 
tribes  on  the  Eastern  coast  of  Arabia  are  here  interpreted  and 
enforced. 

The  treaties  made  with  the  chiefs  of  Bahrein  and  with  the 
tribes  on  the  so-called  Pirate  coast  embrace^  clauses  to  enforce 
the  maritime  peace  of  the  Gulf,  to  exclude  foreign  powers 
from  the  possession  of  territory,  to  regulate  or  abolish  the  slave- 
traffic  and  to  put  down  piracy.  Since  1820  various  treaties 
of  truce  have  been  concluded  with  the  warlike  Arabs  on  the 
coast  south  of  Katar  and  have  been  frequently  renewed  or 
strengthened.     In  1853  a  Treaty  of  Perpetual  Peace  was  made 


BRITISH  INFLUENCE   IN  ARABIA  229 

with  other  tribes '  which  provided  that  there  should  be  a  com- 
plete cessation  of  hostilities  at  sea  and  that  all  disputes  should 
be  referred  to  the  British  Resident.  The  contracting  parties 
were  called  Trucial  Chiefs  and  the  treaty  is  known  as  the 
Trucial  Arrangement  or  League.  Beside  these  treaties  the 
English  have  an  exclusive  treaty  with  the  Sheikh  of  Bahrein  to 
such  a  degree,  that  the  islands  are  practically  a  British  pro- 
tectorate. 

Although  there  are  no  formal  treaties  with  the  tribes  along 
the  Hassa  coast  and  Katar,  these  being  under  Turkish  rule,  that 
region  is  not  disregarded  by  Great  Britain,  nay  Nejd  itself  finds 
a  place  in  the  administration  reports  of  the  Persian  Gulf.  Po- 
litical agency  whenever  the  horizon  in  that  part  of  the  penin- 
sula shows  a  storm  cloud  though  it  be  no  bigger  than  a  man's 
hand.  The  claims  of  the  Porte  to  sovereignty  over  El  Katar 
are  not  admitted  by  the  British  government'^  and  are  the  cause 
not  only  of  diplomatic  controversy  but  of  actual  interference  on 
the  part  of  the  British  when  necessary. 

The  great  benefits  that  have  followed  the  treaties  of  peace 
with  the  Arab  tribes  are  manifest  most  of  all  by  a  comparison 
of  that  part  of  the  Arabian  coast  under  English  supervision 
and  the  long  stretch  from  Katif  to  Busrah  which  is  Turkish. 
The  former  enjoys  peace  and  the  tribes  have  settled  down  to 
commerce  and  fishing,  there  is  safety  for  the  traveller  and  the 
stranger  everywhere ;  the  latter  is  in  continual  state  of  warfare, 
there  is  neither  commerce  nor  agriculture  and  the  entire  coast 
is  utterly  unsafe  because  of  the  laissez  /aire  policy  of  Turkey. 

'  I.  Ras  el  Kheima — Jowasim  tribe. 

2.  Um-el-Kawain — Al-bu-Ali  tribe. 

3.  Ajnian — Al-bu-Ali  tribe. 

4.  Sharka — Jowasim  tribe. 

5.  Debai — Al-bii-falasal  tribe. 

6.  Abn  Dhabi— Bni  Yas  tribe. 

All   of    these    tribes   reside    between    Katar  and  Ras  el  Had  on  the 
Arabian  coast.     (See  Aitchison,  Vol.  VII.,  No.  xxvi.) 
"^  Curzon's  "  Persia,"  Vol.  II.,  p.  453. 


230  ARABIA,    THE   CRADLE   OF  ISLAM 

Turning  to  Oman  we  find,  in  the  words  of  Lord  Curzon, 
that,  treaty  succeeding  treaty,  "it  may  be  justifiably  regarded 
as  a  British  dependency."  The  recent  history  of  Muscat  has 
only  hastened  the  day  when  "the  Union  Jack  will  be  seen  fly- 
ing from  the  castles  of  Muscat."  The  Bedouin  revolt  and 
their  occupation  of  the  town  resulted  in  saddling  the  unhappy 
Sultan  with  a  large  bill  for  damages  sustained  by  British  sub- 
jects. The  episode  of  the  French  coaling-station  cost  the 
Sultan  his  annual  subsidy.  Thus  from  the  side  of  finance  he 
is  doubly  dependent  on  English  clemency. 

The  second  British  king  of  Arabia  resides  at  Aden.  There 
he  is  at  once  Political  Resident  and  commander  of  the  troops. 
His  authority  extends  not  only  to  the  settlement  of  Aden 
proper  but  includes  supervision  of  a  territory  200  miles  long  by 
forty  broad  with  a  population  of  130,000.  Many  of  the 
neighboring  tribes  are  subsidized  and  all  of  them  are  bound  by 
treaty  to  Great  Britain.  ^Vhat  the  Bushire  Resident  is  for  the 
Gulf  that  the  Aden  Resident  is  for  the  Southern  litoral  of  the 
Peninsula.  Moreover  the  Island  of  Socotra  is  also  under  the 
Resident  at  Aden  and  the  Island  of  Perim.  The  ruler  of 
Makalla  in  Hadramaut  is  under  special  treaty  with  England ; 
although  the  newspaper  report,  that  Great  Britain  had  declared 
a  protectorate  over  all  Southern  Arabia,  has  no  foundation.  ^ 


'  The  following  tribes  in  the  vicinity  of  Aden  receive  (or  received) 
annual  subsidies  from  the  British  Government : 

f  -L.                                 Estimated  y,  .,                                   Estimated 

Population.  '                                 Population. 

Abdali 15,000       Haushabi 6,000 

Fadhli 25,000       Alavvi ifSoo 

Akrabi 800       Amir 30,000 

Subaihi 20,000       Yafifai 35, 000 

Thus  the  total  estimated  population  of  these  tribes  is  133,300  and  the 
total  amount  of  the  annual  stipend  paid  them  in  1 877,  was  12,000 
German  crowns.     (Hunter's  "  Aden,"  p.  155.) 


BRITISH  INFLUENCE  IN  ARABIA  231 

In  the  tribes  which  are  bound  by  treaty  with  Britain  a  patri- 
archal system  of  supervision  seems  to  prevail.  Good  children 
are  rewarded  and  bad  ones  are  punished.  Nothing  escapes  the 
eye  of  the  political  parent ;  one  has  only  to  read  the  yearly 
Administration  reports  to  find  many  striking  and  sometimes 
amusing  examples.  We  quote  from  the  Residency  Report  of 
Muscat  for  1893-94  verbatim  :  "One  case  of  breach  of  the 
maritime  peace  of  the  Gulf  occurred  in  which  the  Sultan  was 
advised  to  inflict  a  fine  of  Rs.  50  (about  sixteen  dollars)  on  Meh- 
dibin-Ali,  the  Sheikh  of  the  Kamazarah  tribe  of  Khassab,  for 
proceeding  with  a  party  of  armed  men  by  sea  to  Shaam  with 
the  object  of  prosecuting  a  certain  claim  his  wdfe  had  against 
the  estate  of  her  deceased  father.  After  some  months'  delay 
the  attendance  of  the  Sheikh  was  enforced  at  Muscat  and  the 
fine  was  recovered."  The  same  report  tells  how  the  govern- 
ment of  India  acknowledged  the  kindness  shown  to  the  ship- 
wrecked crew  of  the  S.  S.  Khiva  in  April,  1893,  by  the  Sultan 
of  Muscat,  "by  presentation  to  His  Highness  of  a  handsome 
telescope  and  watch."  Every  year  all  the  tribal  chiefs  who 
have  proved  "good  boys  "  receive  some  yards  of  bright  flan- 
nel, a  new  rifle  or  a  pair  of  army  pistols.  But  the  patriarchal 
system  works  well ;  and  there  are  few  Arabs  who  would  like 
English  power  in  the  Gulf  or  near  Aden  to  grow  less  ;  all  ex- 
press admiration  for  English  rule,  if  not  for  English  politics. 
In  Arabia  too  the  old  promise  of  Noah  is  finding  its  fulfillment 
to-day.  "God  shall  enlarge  Japhet  and  he  shall  dwell  in  the 
tents  of  Shem."  Shem  never  took  a  better  guest  into  his  tent 
than  when  he  signed  a  treaty  of  perpetual  peace  with  England 
on  his  coasts. 

England  has  consulates  and  consular  agents  at  more  places 
in  Arabia  than  has  any  other  power  and  her  consuls  exercise 
more  authority  and  have  greater  prestige.  In  nearly  every 
case  they  were  first  appointed  and  have  therefore  had  longer 
time  to  extend  their  influence.  At  Jiddah,  Hodeidah,  and  on 
the  island  of  Kamaran  there  are  British  consulates  or  vice-con- 


232  ARABM,   THE   CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

sulates  ;  and  there  are  reports  of  a  consulate  at  Sana.  At 
Makalla  there  is  a  British  agent.  Muscat,  Bagdad,  Busrah, 
Bushire  and  Mohammerah  all  have  consulates,  with  different 
degrees  of  authority  and  position,  all  exercising  power  of 
some  sort  in  Arabia.  Bahrein,  Lingah,  Sharka,  Bunder 
Abbas,  and  other  points  in  the  Gulf  have  British  agents. 
At  Jiddah,  Hodeidah  and  Aden  there  are  several  consulates 
beside  the  English.  Muscat  has  for  some  years  had  an 
American  consul  and  in  1894  the  French  established  a  consu- 
late there.  Russia  has  no  representative  in  the  Gulf  save  at 
Bagdad ;  nor  has  Germany.  None  of  the  European  powers, 
save  England,  have  agents  at  any  of  the  Arabian  ports  in  the 
Gulf  nor  do  the  ships  of  their  navies  often  visit  this  part  of  the 
world.  In  fact  so  little  do  the  Arabs  know  of  other  consuls 
than  English,  that  their  words  for  agent,  wakil,  and  for  consul, 
baljoz,  always  signify  to  them  British  officers  or  appointees. 


XXIII 

PRESENT    POLITICS    IN    ARABIA 

"The  signs  of  the  times  show  plainly  enough  what  is  going  to  happen. 
All  the  savage  lands  in  the  world  are  going  to  be  brought  under  subjec- 
tion to  the  Christian  Governments  of  Europe.  The  sooner  the  seizure  is 
consummated,  the  better  for  the  savages." — Mark  Twain. 

■^X  7HILE  Turkey  continues  in  power  the  western  coast  of 
Arabia  will  see  no  cliange  and  everything  will  be  quiet 
in  Hejaz.  If  however  the  trouble  between  the  Sherifs  of 
Mecca  and  the  Sublime  Porte  should  reach  a  crisis  or  Moslem 
fanaticism  at  Jiddah  should  endanger  the  lives  of  Christians,  we 
may  expect  England,  and  perhaps  France  and  Holland  to  inter- 
fere  as  did   England   in    1858.^     Regarding   Yemen   there  is 

'  In  a  remarkable  article,  the  N'ovoe  Vrevtya  makes  known  the  Russian 
discovery  of "  a  new  British  intrigue."  It  appears  that  Great  Britain, 
not  content  with  the  virtual  annexation  of  Egypt  and  the  Sudan,  is  even, 
while  carrying  out  her  plans  for  the  absorption  of  the  Transvaal  and  the 
advancement  of  her  interests  in  Persia,  busily  engaged  in  setting  up  a 
Mohammedan  Power  which  is  to  rival  that  of  the  Sultan,  and  is  ultimately 
to  be  used  as  a  means  of  menacing,  if  not  destroying,  Russian  authority 
in  Central  Asia.  The  puppet  Prince  selected  for  this  purpose  is  the  Sherif 
of  Mecca.  According  to  the  Ncn'oe  Vreinya,  the  Sherif  has  recently  re- 
ceived from  England  a  letter  stating  that  the  British  government,  having 
decided  to  invest  a  certain  worthy  but  impecunious  Mohammedan  Sheikh 
with  the  Caliphate  of  Zeila,  on  the  borders  of  Somaliland,  and  recognizing 
the  Sherif  as  a  descendant  of  the  Prophet  and  great  protector  of  Islam, 
considers  it  desirable  for  the  Sherif  on  the  day  of  the  appointment  of  the 
new  Caliph  to  issue  a  manifesto  expressing  his  approval.  In  return  for 
this  service.  Great  Britain  will  proclaim  Mecca  and  Medina  the  private 
property  of  the  Sherif,  will  assure  to  him  the  greater  part  of  the  revenues 
of  the  new  Caliphate,  and  will  defend  him  by  diplomatic  means,  or  even 

233 


234  /iRABIA,   THE  CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

more  probability  of  a  great  political  change  in  the  near  future. 
Aden  is  a  cinder-heap,  but  Sana  has  a  fine,  cold  climate  and  is 
the  capital  of  a  rich  mountain  region  capable  of  extraordinary 
development.  There  are  those  who  desire  to  see  England  as- 
sume a  protectorate  over  all  Yemen,  and  if  ever  the  Arabs 
should  turn  out  the  Turks,  England  would  be  almost  compelled 
to  step  in  and  preserve  peace  for  her  allied  tribes  near  Aden. 
Long  since  the  army  at  Aden  has  felt  the  need  of  a  hill-station 
and  only  the  Crescent  keeps  the  English  troops  penned  up  in 
an  extinct  crater  where  life  at  best  is  misery. 

The  southern  part  of  Arabia  is  of  such  a  character  geograph- 
ically and  the  coast  so  barren  that  it  offers  no  attractions  to  the 
most  ambitious  land-grabber.  Oman,  like  Yemen,  is  fertile 
and  has  in  addition  certain  mining  possibilities.  Until  recent 
years  England  was  the  only  foreign  power  that  claimed  an  in- 
terest in  the  heritage  of  the  Sultan  of  Muscat.  Now  France  is 
on  the  scene  and  is  apparently  unwilling  that  British  power 
should  increase  in  Oman  or  the  Gulf.  The  alleged  lease  of  a 
coaling-station  to  France  by  the  Sultan  of  Muscat  in  February, 
1899,  was  only  the  beginning  of  French  opposition  made  mani- 
fest. Her  establishment  of  a  consulate  at  Muscat,  her  relations 
to  the  slave-trade,  her  attempt  to  subsidize  a  line  of  French 
steamers  in  the  Gulf,  her  secret  agents  recently  travelling  in  the 
Gulf — all  these  were  only  ripples  that  show  which  way  the  cur- 
rent flows.  So  far  England  has  had  free  play  in  Oman  ;  now 
another  power  has  appeared.  The  coaling-station  incident 
was  soon  settled  to  the  satisfaction  of  all  Englishmen,  and  in  a 
thoroughly  English  way.  Under  threat  of  bombardment  the 
Sultan  repudiated  his  agreement  with  the  French  and  by  way 
by  force  of  arms,  against  the  interference  of  the  Sultan  or  any  other  For- 
eign Power.  It  is  perhaps  needless  to  say  that  the  author  of  this  intrigue 
is  said  to  be  Mr.  Chamberlain,  who  is  described  as  a  man  "  without  faith, 
without  truth,  capable  of  trampling  under  foot  every  commandment, 
whether  of  God  or  man,  in  order  to  accomplish  his  purpose  of  placing 
Great  Britain  at  the  head  of  the  Powers  of  the  world." — Times  of  India, 
1899. 


PRESENT  POLITICS  IN  /IRABI/I  235 

of  punishment  for  his  misconduct  his  annual  stipend  was 
stopped.  AVhelher  France  will  continue  to  seek  to  increase  her 
influence  in  the  Gulf  remains  to  be  seen.  It  is  certain  that 
English  policy  is  strenuously  opposed  to  allowing  one  square 
foot  of  Oman  territory  to  pass  into  the  hands  of  France  or  any 
other  foreign  power. 

In  April,  1899,  it  was  announced  that  Russia  had  entered  the 
Persian  Gulf  as  a  political  power  and  acquired  the  harbor  of 
Bunder  Abbas  in  Persia  as  a  terminus  for  her  proposed  rail- 
way. Since  that  time  this  has  been  officially  denied  both  at 
Teheran  and  St.  Petersburg  and  also  stoutly  reasserted  with 
new  proofs  by  the  English  press  and  the  press  of  India.  It  is 
undoubtedly  news  of  a  sensational  character  if  it  be  true. 
The  presence  of  Russia  in  the  Persian  Gulf  would  probably 
change  the  future  history  of  all  its  literal  and  help  to  decide 
the  future  partition  of  Arabia  and  Mesopotamia.  All  things 
seem  to  be  moving  toward  a  crisis  in  this  region  of  the  east. 
And  if  the  battle  for  empire  and  for  possession  of  the  keys  to 
the  gateway  of  India  should  be  fought  in  the  Persian  Gulf 
the  possible  consequences  are  too  vast  to  be  surmised.  What 
England's  policy  would  be  in  case  there  is  truth  in  the  alleged 
Russian  aggression,  is  summarized  in  a  recent  article  in  the 
Times  of  India : 

"  It  remains  to  consider  what  steps  should  be  taken  by  Great 
Britain  in  view  of  the  new  development  in  Gulf  politics.  It 
may  be  taken  for  granted  that  Russia  will  not  attempt  to  take 
possession  of  Bunder  Abbas  for  a  considerable  time  to  come. 
She  will  make  every  effort  to  deny  the  existence  of  the  ad- 
vantage she  has  gained  until  a  convenient  opportunity  arises 
for  putting  her  plan  into  execution.  In  the  meantime,  Great 
Britain  can  be  well  content  to  remain  quiet,  and  to  imitate 
her  adversary  by  playing  a  waiting  game.  It  will  possibly  be 
suggested  that  by  again  occupying  Kishm,  and  by  seizing 
Ormuz,  the  value  of  Bunder  Abbas  to  Russia  could  at  once  be 
neutralized  to  a  large  extent.     That  is  doubtless  true  ;  but  it  is 


236  ARABIA,   THE  CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

material  to  point  out  that  little  is  to  be  gained  by  precipitate 
action,  that  these  points  of  vantage  can  be  occupied  with 
facility  at  any  time,  and  that  the  true  policy  of  Great  Britain  is 
to  endeavor  to  preserve  the  status  quo  for  as  long  a  period  as 
possible. 

"  Meanwhile,  there  are  many  methods  by  which  British 
power  and  influence  in  the  Gulf  can  be  safeguarded.  We  un- 
derstand that  the  Admiralty  has  already  decided  to  strengthen 
the  naval  force  maintained  in  Persian  waters,  and  that  the  Ad- 
miral commanding  the  East  Indies  squadron  will  in  future  give 
the  Gulf  a  larger  share  of  his  personal  supervision.  But  this  is 
not  enough.  I'he  staff  of  political  officers  in  the  Gulf  needs 
to  be  enlarged.  .  .  .  Then,  too,  more  telegraph  cables 
are  needed.  Muscat  is  now  shut  off  from  communication 
with  the  rest  of  the  world,  although  the  port  was  once  linked 
up  with  Aden  by  cable.  A  line  should  be  laid  from  Muscat  to 
Jask  forthwith,  and  another  branch  should  connect  Jask  with 
Bunder  Abbas  and  Lingah.  More  political  agents  should  be 
stationed  in  the  hinterland  between  Bunder  Abbas  and  Seistan, 
with  roving  commissions,  if  necessary.  One  other  matter 
needs  urgent  attention.  Russia  now  possesses  the  sole  right  to 
construct  railways  in  Persia,  under  an  agreement  which,  after 
being  in  existence  ten  years,  expires  this  year.  Is  anything 
being  done  to  prevent  the  renewal  of  this  objectionable  conces- 
sion, which  is  deeply  opposed  to  British  interests  in  the  Shah's 
dominions  ?  It  is  in  the  highest  degree  important  that  Great 
Britain  should  secure  a  share  in  the  concessions  for  roads  and 
railways  Avhich  will  certainly  be  granted  by  the  Persian  gov- 
ernment in  the  near  future.  Unfortunately,  the  gaze  of  the 
British  public  is  so  steadily  concentrated  upon  China  that  it  is 
unable  to  perceive  dangers  which  threaten  the  empire  in  a  far 
more  vital  place.  There  must  soon  be  a  rude  awakening.  It 
is  not  in  China,  but  in  Persia  and  the  Persian  Gulf,  that  the 
centre  of  political  strife  and  international  rivalry  in  Asia  will 
soon  be  fixed." 


PRESENT  POLITICS  IN  ARABIA  237 

With  the  event  of  Russia  in  the  Gulf  and  her  Persian  poHcy, 
with  France  envious  of  England's  growing  prestige  in  this 
Orient,  with  Germany  at  work  building  railways  and  Turkey's 
days  numbered,  what  is  to  be  the  future  of  the  fertile  provinces 
of  Busrah  and  Bagdad  ?  Will  England  continue  to  hold  the 
upper  hand  in  every  part  of  Arabia  and  will  some  future  Lord 
Cromer  develop  the  Euphrates-Tigris  valley  into  a  second 
Egypt?  The  battle  of  diplomacy  is  on.  European  cabinets, 
backed  by  immense  armies  and  navies  are  playing  a  game  in- 
volving tremendous  issues — issues  not  only  tremendous  to 
themselves  and  to  the  populations  of  Arabia  and  Persia,  but 
involving  the  interest  of  another  King  and  the  greatest  King- 
dom. The  event  toward  which  history  and  recent  politics  in 
Arabia  have  so  far  been  moving  is  "  the  one  far  off  Divine 
event  "  of  the  Son  of  God.  Not  only  to  the  missionary  but 
to  every  Christian  the  study  of  the  politics  of  Arabia  makes 
evident  the  great  Providential  hand  of  God  in  the  history  of 
the  Peninsula  during  the  past  century.  Jesus  Christ  holds  the 
key  to  the  situation.  All  the  kings  of  the  earth  are  in  His 
hand  and  to  whomsoever  He  gives  power  or  privilege,  the  end 
will  be  the  glory  of  His  own  name  and  the  coming  of  His  own 
kingdom  ;  also  in  Arabia. 


XXIV 

THE   ARABIC   LANGUAGE 

"  Arabic  grammars  should  be  strongly  bound,  because  learners  are  so 
often  found  to  dash  them  frantically  on  the  ground." — Keith  Falconer. 

"  It  is  a  language  more  extended  over  the  face  of  the  earth  and  which 
has  had  more  to  do  with  the  destiny  of  mankind  than  any  other,  except 
English." — I?ev.  Geo.  E.  Post,  M.  D.,  Beirut. 

"  Wisdom  hath  alighted  upon  three  things — the  brain  of  the  Franks, 
the  hands  of  the  Chinese  and  the  tongue  of  the  Arabs." — Mo/iammed  ed- 
Damiri. 

'"T^WO  religions  contend  for  the  mastery  of  the  world ; 
-■-  Christianity  and  Islatn.  Two  races  strive  for  the  pos- 
session of  the  dark  continent ;  the  Anglo-Saxon  and  the  Arab. 
Two  languages  have  for  ages  past  contested  for  world-wide  ex- 
tension on  the  basis  of  colonization  and  propagandism — the 
English  and  the  Arabic.  To-day  about  seventy  millions  of 
people  speak  some  form  of  the  Arabic  language,  as  their 
vernacular ;  and  nearly  as  many  more  know  something  of  its 
literature  in  the  Koran  because  they  are  Mohaminedans.  In 
the  Philippine  islands  the  first  chapter  of  the  Koran  is  repeated 
before  dawn  paints  the  sky  red.  The  refrain  is  taken  up  in 
Moslem  prayers  at  Pekin  and  is  repeated  across  the  whole  of 
China.  It  is  heard  in  the  valleys  of  the  Himalayas  and  on 
"  the  roof  of  the  world."  A  few  hours  later  the  Persians  pro- 
nounce these  Arabic  words  and  then  across  the  Peninsula  the 
muezzins  call  the  "  faithful  "  to  prayer.  At  the  waters  of  the 
Nile,  the  cry  '' Allahu  akbar"  is  again  sounded  forth  ever 
carrying  the  Arab  speech  westward  across  the  Sudan,  the 
Sahara  and  the  Barbary  States  until  it  is  last  heard  in  the 
mosques  of  Morocco. 

238 


THE  ARABIC  LANGUAGE  239 

The  Arabic  Koran  is  a  text-book  in  the  day-schools  of 
Turkey,  Afghanislan,  Java,  Sumatra,  New  Guinea,  and 
Southern  Russia.  Arabic  is  the  spoken  language  not  only  of 
Arabia  proper  but  forces  the  linguistic  boundary  of  that  penin- 
sula 300  miles  north  of  Bagdad  to  Diarbekr  and  Mardin,  and 
is  used  all  over  Syria  and  Palestine  and  the  whole  of  northern 
Africa.  Even  at  Cape  Colony  there  are  daily  readers  of  the 
language  of  Mohammed.  As  early  as  13 15  Arabic  began  to 
be  taught  at  the  universities  of  Europe  through  the  mission- 
ary influence  of  Raymund  Lull  and  to-day  the  language  is 
more  accurately  known  and  its  literature  more  critically  in- 
vestigated at  Leiden  than  at  Cairo  and  at  Cambridge  than  in 
Damascus. 

A  missionary  in  Syria  who  is  a  master  of  the  Arab  tongue 
thus  characterizes  it,  "A  pure  and  original  speech  of  the  great- 
est flexibility,  with  an  enormous  vocabulary,  with  great  gram- 
matical possibility,  fitted  to  convey  theological  and  philosoph- 
ical and  scientific  thought  in  a  manner  not  to  be  excelled  by 
any  language  except  the  English,  and  the  little  group  of  lan- 
guages which  have  been  cultivated  so  happily  by  Christianity 
in  Central  Europe."  Ernest  Renan,  the  French  Semitic 
scholar,  after  expressing  his  surprise  that  such  a  language  as 
Arabic  should  spring  from  the  desert-regions  of  Arabia  and 
reach  perfection  in  nomadic  camps,  says  that  the  Arabic  sur- 
passes all  its  sister  Semitic  languages  in  its  rich  vocabulary, 
delicacy  of  expression,  and  the  logic  of  its  grammatical  con- 
struction.^ 

'  He  speaks  of  it  as  follows  in  his  Histoire  des  Langues  Semitques,  p. 
342  :  "  Cette  langue,  auparavant  inconniie,  se  montre  a  nous  soudainement 
dans  toute  sa  perfection,  avec  sa  flexibilite,  sa  richesse  infinie,  tellemen- 
complete,  en  un  mot,  que  depnis  ce  temps  jusqu'a  nos  jours  elle  n'a  subi 
ancune  modification  importante.  II  n'y  a  pour  elle  ni  enfance,  ni 
vieillesse ;  une  fois  qu'on  a  signale  son  apparition  et  ses  prodijieuses  cont 
quetes,  tout  est  dit  sur  son  compte.  Je  ne  sals  si  Ton  trouverait  un  autre 
exemple  d'un  idiome  entrant  dans  le  monde  comme  celui-ci,  sans  etat 
archai'que,  sans  degres  intermediaires  ni  tatonnements." 


240  AR/iBI^,   THE  CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

The  Semitic  family  of  languages  is  large  and  ancient,  al- 
though not  as  extensive  geographically  nor  so  diverse  as  those 
of  Indo-European  family.  Some  maintain '  that  the  Semites 
v^'ere  ancient  immigrants  from  the  region  northeast  of  Arabia. 
They  hold  that  before  the  formation  of  the  different  Semitic 
dialects  the  Semites  everywhere  used  a  name  for  the  camel 
{Jemel)  which  still  appears  in  all  of  the  dialects.  They  have 
however  no  names  in  common  for  the  date-palm,  the  fruit  of  the 
the  palm  nor  for  the  ostrich,  therefore,  in  their  first  home,  the 
Semites  knew  the  camel  but  did  not  know  the  palm.  Now  the 
region  where  there  is  neither  date-palm  nor  ostrich  and  yet 
where  the  camel  has  lived  from  the  remotest  antiquity  is  the 
central  table-land  of  Asia  near  the  Oxus.  Von  Kremer  holds 
that  from  this  region  the  Semites  migrated  to  Babylon  even 
before  the  Aryan  emigration ;  the  Mesopotamian  valley  is  the 
oldest  seat  of  Semitic  culture. 

Others  ^  hold  that  the  original  home  of  the  Semites  was  in 
the  south  of  Arabia  whence  they  gradually  overspread  the 
peninsula,  so  that,  as  Sprenger  expresses  it,  "All  Semite  are 
successive  layers  of  Arabs."  The  arguments  for  this  theory 
are  briefly  given  by  Sayce:  ^  "  The  Semitic  traditions  all  point 
to  Arabia  as  the  original  home  of  the  race.  It  is  the  only  part 
of  the  world  which  has  remained  exclusively  Semites.  The 
racial  characteristics — intensity  of  faith,  ferocity,  exclusiveness, 
imagination — can  best  be  explained  by  a  desert  origin."  De 
Goeje  lays  stress  on  the  fine  climate  of  Central  Arabia  and  the 
splendid  physical  development  of  the  Arab  as  additional  proof 
together  with  the  indisputable  fact  that  "of  all  Semitic  lan- 
guages the  Arabic  approaches  nearest  to  the  original  mother- 
tongue  as  was  conclusively  demonstrated  by  Professor  Schrader 
of  Berlin." 

The  following  table  will  show  at  a  glance  the  position  of 

'  Von  Kremer,  Guidi,  Hommel. 

i"  Sayce,  Sprenger,  Schrader,  De  Goeje,  Wright. 

3  Assyrian  Grammar,  p.  13. 


THE  ARABIC  LANGUAGE 


241 


Arabic  in  the  Semitic  family  group,  dead  languages  being  put 
in  italics.  Arabic,  ancient  and  modern  belongs  to  the  South 
Semitic  group  and  at  an  early  period  supplanted  the  Him- 
yaritic  in  Yemen,  although  the  Mahri  and  Ehkeli  dialects  are 
still  used  in  the  mountains  of  Hadramaut.^  It  was  practically 
the  only  conquering  language  on  the  list  and  is  the  only  one 
that  is  growing  in  use. 

TABLE  or  SEMITIC  LANGUAGES, 
f  Babylonian. 

EASTERN   J  ■' 


NORTHERN: \ 


\  Assyn 


WESTERN  (Aramaic) 


iSyriac. 
Mandean. 
iVabatkean. 


Western    ■ 


(  Phcenician. 


CENTRAL :      - 

H 

ebrew. 

1 

^  Moabite  and  Canaanitish  dialects. 

f  One  written  language 

ARABIC     1                   but 

(Ishniaelite)  1       Modern  Dialects 

I            in  speech. 

r  Mahri. 

SOUTHERN:   - 

Himyaritic    \ 

i  Ehkeli. 

'  Old  Geez. 

Tigre. 

Ethiopic     ■ 

Tigrina. 

(Joktanite) 

Amharic. 
Harari. 

Samaritan. 
Jeivish  Aramaic 
(as  Targums  and 
Talmud). 
Palmyreiie. 
_  Egyptian  Aramaic, 


Maltese  [?]. 
Morocco. 
Algerian,  etc. 
Egyptian. 
Syrian. 
Yemen. 
Bagdadi. 
_  Omanese,  etc. 


There  are  to-day  over  one  hundred  Arabic  newspapers  and 
magazines  regularly  published  and  which  together  have  an  im- 
mense circulation  in  all  parts  of  the  Arabic-speaking  world. 

'  An  account  of  this  language  or  dialect  was  given  by  Surgeon  H.  J, 
Carter  in  Journal  Roy.  Asiat.  Soc,  July,  1847. 


242  ARABU,   THE  CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

While  the  Arabic  language  has  now  acknowledged  suprem- 
acy above  all  its  sisters,  in  its  historical  and  literary  development 
it  was  last  of  them  all.  Not  until  the  seventh  century  of  our  era 
did  Arabic  become,  in  any  sense,  important.  The  language  re- 
ceived its  literary  birthright  and  its  inspiration  through  the 
illiterate  prophet  who  could  not  read  but  who  set  all  the  East- 
ern world  to  studying  his  book.  The  Arabic  literature  of  the 
days  before  Mohammed  has  a  high  literary  character,  but  with 
all  its  beauty  it  was  only  the  morning  star  that  ushered  in  the 
sunrise.  When  once  the  Koran  was  promulgated,  literature 
and  grammar  and  the  sciences  all  spoke  Arabic.  It  was  the 
renaissance  of  the  dead  and  dying  East.  Whatever  effect 
the  Koran  may  have  had  on  the  social  life  and  morals  of  a  peo- 
ple, no  one  denies  that  it  was  the  Koran  and  that  alone  which 
rescued  Arabic  from  becoming  a  local  idiom.  Again  this 
Koran  was  the  unifying  factor  of  the  new  religion,  sweeping 
everything  down  before  it ;  not  only  did  it  unify  the  hostile 
tribes  of  Arabia  but  melted  all  their  dialects  into  one  and 
established  an  ever-abiding  classical  standard  for  the  remotest 
student  of  the  language  of  revelation.  We  do  not  of  course 
hold,  as  do  the  Arabs,  that  the  Arabic  of  the  Koran  is  abso- 
lutely without  a  parallel  in  grammatical  purity  and  diction. 
The  contrary  has  been  proved  by  Noldeke  and  Dozy.  The 
latter  states  that  the  Koran  is  "full  of  bastard- Arabic  and  has 
many  grammatical  blunders,  which  are  at  present  unnoticed, 
since  the  grammarians  have  kindly  constructed  rules  or  excep- 
tions to  include  even  these  in  the  list  of  unapproachable  style 
and  perfection." 

The  origin  and  history  of  the  Arabic  alphabet  is  exceedingly 
interesting.  All  writing  was  originally  pictorial,  the  next  stage 
being  that  of  the  ideogram.  Perhaps  a  trace  of  this  earliest 
writing  still  remains  in  the  wasms  or  tribal  marks  of  the  Bed- 
ouin. Scholars  maintain  that  the  earliest  Semitic  writing  we 
possess  of  certain  date  is  that  on  the  Moabite  Stone,  discovered 
by  the  missionary  Klein  in   1868.     Almost  of  equal  age  is  the 


THE  ARABIC  LANGUAGE  243 

Cyprus  and  Sidon  alphabet,  and  that  of  the  Phoenicians,  found 
on  ancient  coins  and  monuments.  The  date  of  this  writing  is 
put  at  890  B.  c.  On  these  monuments  and  coins  the  system  of 
orthography  is  already  so  carefully  developed  as  to  prove  that 
the  Semites  understood  the  art  centuries  before  that  date.  The 
oldest  forms  of  these  Semitic  alphabets  are  in  turn  derived 
(Halevy,  Noldeke)  from  the  Egyptian  hieratic  characters. 
The  oldest  inscriptions  found  in  North  Arabia  by  Doughty  and 
Enting,  in  the  Nabatean  character,  and  in  South  Arabia  by 
Halevy  and  others  in  Himyaritic  character,  are  both  written, 
like  modern  Arabic,  from  right  to  left.  Although  the  charac- 
ters do  not  resemble  each  other,  this  would  seem  to  indicate  a 
common  origin.  The  intimate  connection  of  the  present  Arabic 
alphabet  with  the  Hebrew  or  Phoenician,  is  shown  not  only  by 
the  forms  of  the  letters,  but  by  their  more  ancient  numerical 
arrangement  called  by  the  Arabs  Abjad,  and  which  corresponds 
with  the  Hebrew  order. 


^^ 


allt^ 


a^k 


CUFIC  CHARACTERS. 

Accounts  differ  even  among  the  Arabs  as  to  who  adapted  or 
invented  the  present  Arabic  alphabet  from  the  older  Cufic 
forms.  Some  even  hold  that  they  both  developed  simultaneously 
out  of  the  Himyaritic.  The  Cufic,  it  is  true,  is  found  on  old 
monuments  and  coins  from  the  Persian  Gulf  to  Spain,  and  is  a 
square,  apparently  more  crude  kind  of  writing.  But  the  cur- 
sive script  (now  called  Naskhi)  seems  to  have  been  in  use  also 
long  before  Mohammed's  time,  the  Arab  historians  to  the  con- 
trary notwithstanding,  for  the  exigencies  of  daily  life.  That 
writing  was  known  at  Mecca  before  the  era  of  Mohammed  is 
acknowledged  by  Moslem  tradition  and  the  close  intercourse 


244  /IRABU,    THE   CRADLE   OF  ISLAM 

with  Yemen  long  before  that  time  would  certainly  indicate 
some  knowledge  of  Himyaritic.  Syriac  and  Hebrew  were  also 
known  in  Mecca  and  Medina  because  of  the  Jewish  popula- 
tion, and  it  is  not  improbable  that  this  may  have  had  influence 
on  the  present  form  of  the  Arabic  alphabet. 


MODERN  COPYBOOK  STYLE  OF  ARABIC  (VOWELED.) 
ORDINARY  ARABIC  HANDWRITING   (UNVOWELED.) 

It  is  not  without  reason  that  Mohammed's  cognomen  for  Jew 
and  Christian  alike  was,  "the  people  of  the  Book."  At  first, 
like  the  Hebrew,  Arabic  had  no  vowel-points  or  diacritical 
marks.  In  the  earliest  Cufic  Koran  manuscripts  these  have  the 
form  of  accents,  horizontal  lines  or  even  triangles.  The  Arabs 
tell  many  interesting  stories  about  the  cause  and  occasion  of 
their  invention  by  Abu  Aswad  ad  Duili  or  by  Nasr  bin  'Asim. 
In  each  case  the  awful  sin  of  mispronouncing  a  word  in  the 
Koran  leads  to  the  device  of  vowel-points  as  a  future  preventa- 
tive. According  to  another  tradition  it  was  Hasan-el-Basri 
(who  died  a.  h.  iio)  that  first  pointed  the  Koran  text  with  the 
assistance  of  Yahya  bin  Yamar.  The  vowel-points,  so  called, 
were  in  reality  the  abbreviated  weak-consonants  and  were 
placed,  in  accordance  with  the  sound  of  these  letters,  when  so 
pronounced.     The  vowel-points  and  diacritical  marks  are  al- 


THE  /IR/1BIC  LANGUAGE 


245 


ways  found  in  copies  of  the  Koran,  but  seldom  in  other  books 
and  never  in  epistolary  writing.  They  are  considered  by  the 
Arabs  themselves  as  at  best  a  necessary  evil,  except  for  gram- 
marians and  purists.  The  story  is  told  that  an  elaborate  piece 
of  Arabic  penmanship  was  once  presented  to  the  governor  of 
Khorasan  under  the  Caliph  al  Mamun,  and  that  he  exclaimed, 
"  How  beautiful  this  would  be  if  there  were  not  so  much  cori- 
ander seed  scattered  over  it !  " 


MOGREBI  ARABIC  OF  NORTH  AFRICA   (UNVOWELED.) 

The  demand  for  perfect  accuracy  in  copying  the  Koran  in 
every  detail  of  point  and  accent,  led  the  Arabs  to  glorify  the 
art  of  caligraphy,  and,  as  they  followed  neither  painting  nor 
sculpture  because  of  their  creed,  they  naturally  put  all  their 
artistic  taste  into  their  manuscripts.  Brilliantly  colored  and 
adorned  with  gold  on  delicately  tinted  parchment,  or  paper,  the 
fanciful  chapter-headings  and  the  elegant  tracery  of  each  letter 
in  the  book  make  such  an  old  manuscript  Koran  a  real  work 
of  art.  Three  names  are  recorded  of  those  who  in  the  early 
days  of  Islam  were  the  Raphaels  and  Michael  Angelos  of  the 
reed-pen  ;  Wazir  Muhammed  bin  Ali,  Ali  bin  Hilal  al  Bauwab, 
and  Abu-'d-Dur  bin  Yakut  al  Musta'sami.  As  time  went  by 
there  arose  various  schools  of  this  art ;   chiefly  distinguished  as 


246  ARABIA,   THE   CRADLE   OF  ISLAM 

the  Magrib-Berber  or  Western,  and  the  Turko-Arab  or  Eastern 
style.  In  the  decorations  of  the  Alhambra  the  western  school 
shows  some  of  its  most  finished  art,  while  Damascus  and  Cairo 
mosques  show  the  delicate  "Arabesque"  traceries  of  the 
lighter  oriental  school.  It  is  in  manuscripts,  however,  that  the 
best  work  is  found ;  some  of  these  are  of  priceless  value  and 
exceeding  beauty.  Even  to-day  there  are  Arab  penmen  whose 
work  commands  a  good  price  as  art  and  gives  them  a  position 
in  society  as  it  did  the  monkey,  described  in  the  Arabian 
Nights,  who  improvised  poetry  in  five  styles  of  caligraphy  for 
the  astonished  king. 

PERSIAN  STYLE  EXTENSIVELY  USED  IN  EASTERN  ARABIA. 

The  Arabic  language  is  distinguished  among  those  that  know 
it  for  its  beauty,  and  among  those  who  are  learning  it  for  its 
difficulty.  To  the  Arabs  their  language  is  not  only  the  lan- 
guage of  revelation,  but  of  the  Revealer  himself.  Allah  speaks 
Arabic  in  heaven,  and  on  the  day  of  judgment  will  judge  the 
world  in  this  "  language  of  the  angels."  All  other  tongues  are 
vastly  inferior  in  grammatical  construction,  and  what  else  could 
they  be  since  the  Koran  with  its  classical  perfection  has  existed 
before  all  words,  uncreated,  written  on  the  preserved  tablet  in 
heaven,  the  daily  delight  of  the  innumerable  company  of  angels  ! 
As  Renan  says,  "  among  a  people  so  preoccupied  with  language 
as  the  Arabs,  the  language  of  the  Koran  became  as  it  were  a 


THE  ARABIC  LANGUAGE  247 

second  religion,  a  sort  of  dogma  inseparable  from  Islam."  But 
the  innate  beauty  of  the  language  is  acknowledged  by  all  who 
have  made  it  a  study,  whether  born  on  the  soil  of  Arabia  or 
educated  in  the  universities  of  Europe.  From  the  days  of  the 
Dutch  scholars,  De  Dieu,  Schultens,  Schroeder  and  Scheid, 
and  the  Swiss  Hottinger  to  the  times  of  Noldeke,  Gesenius  and 
Renan,  the  praises  of  Arabic  have  been  proclaimed  in  Europe, 
and  its  study  pursued  with  a  devotion  that  almost  amounted  to 
a  passion. 

The  elements  of  beauty  in  this  language  are  many.  There 
is  first  its  logical  structure,  which,  we  are  told,  surpasses  that  of 
any  other  language.  Even  the  order  of  the  alphabet  is  more 
logical  as  regards  form  than  the  Hebrew ;  its  grammar  is  alto- 
gether logical ;  the  exceptions  to  its  rules  can  be  formed,  so  to 
say,  into  a  syllogism.  Palmer's  and  Lansing's  grammars  show 
how  this  logical  structure  can  be  discovered  in  the  minutest  de- 
tail, so  that,  e.  g.,  the  three  short  vowels  control  the  forms  not 
only,  but  the  significance  of  roots,  and  are  the  key  to  the  in- 
terpretation of  all  grammatical  mysteries. 

A  second  element  of  beauty  is  found  in  the  lexical  richness 
of  the  Arabic.  Its  boundless  vocabulary  and  wealth  of  syno- 
nyms are  universally  acknowledged  and  admired.  A  diction- 
ary is  called  a  Kamoos  or  "Deep  Ocean  "  where  "full  many 
a  gem  of  purest  ray  serene,  the  dark  unfathomed  caves ' '  con- 
ceal for  the  diligent  student.  Renan  tells  of  an  Arab  linguist 
who  wrote  a  book  on  the  500  names  given  to  the  lion  in  litera- 
ture ;  another  gives  200  words  for  serpent.  Firozabadi,  the 
Arabian  Webster,  is  said  to  have  written  a  sort  of  supplement 
on  the  words  for  honey  and  to  have  left  it  incomplete  at  the 
eightieth  w^ord ;  the  same  authority  asserts  that  there  are  over 
1,000  different  terms  in  Arabic  for  sword  and,  judging  from 
its  use  by  the  Arabs,  this  appears  credible.  De  Hammer 
Purgstall,  a  German  scholar,  wrote  a  book  on  the  words  re- 
lating to  the  camel  and  finds  them,  in  Arabic  literature,  to  the 
number  of  5,744.     But  this  remarkable  exhibition  loses  some 


248  ARABIA,   THE   CRADLE   OF  ISLAM 

of  its  grandeur  when  truth  compells  us  to  state  that  many  of 
the  so-called  synonyms  are  epithets  changed  into  substantives 
or  tropes  accidentally  employed  by  some  poet  to  conform  to 
his  rhyme.  It  is  also  true  that  the  wealth  of  synonym  is 
limited  in  Arabic  to  a  certain  class  of  words ;  in  other  depart- 
ments of  thought,  ethics  for  example,  the  language  is  wofully 
poor,  not  even  having  a  distinctive  word  for  conscience. 

A  third  point  of  beauty  in  the  Arabic  language  is  its  purity 
as  compared  with  other  Semitic  languages  or  even  all  other 
languages.  This  was  partly  due  to  the  geographical  location 
of  the  Arabs  and  is  still  due  to  their  early  literature  together 
with  the  Koran  which  has  put  a  classical  standard  into  the 
hands  of  every  schoolboy  and  has  prevented,  by  the  law  of 
religion,  both  development  and  deterioration.  "While  other 
languages  of  the  same  family  became  dead  and  while  many  of 
their  forms  and  meanings  changed  or  disappeared,  the  Arabic 
remained  comparatively  pure  and  intact  excepting  perhaps  the 
temporary  corruption  which  necessarily  occurred  during  the 
Moslem  conquests  and  foreign  applications  of  the  first  four 
Caliphs."! 

The  Arabic  race  occupied  at  first  a  circumscribed  territory 
and  came  little  into  contact  with  the  surrounding  nations  so 
that  the  forces  which  produce  linguistic  decay  were  absent. 
The  only  thing  that  will  preserve  a  language  pure  next  to  iso- 
lation is  a  classical  literature.  English  has  changed  less  since 
Shakespeare's  time  than  it  did  in  the  interval  between  him  and 
Chaucer.  So  too  with  Arabic.  Had  it  not  been  for  the 
Koran  and  its  cognate  literature,  by  this  time  the  people  of 
Syria,  Egypt,  Morocco  and  Oman  would  perhaps  scarcely 
understand  each  other,  and  their  written  language  would  differ 
vastly ;  but  the  existence  of  this  literature  has  kept  the  written 
language  a  unit  and  put  a  constant  check  on  the  vagaries  of 
dialect. 

The  last,  and  chief  element  of  beauty  in  th.e  Arabic  tongue 
'  Lansing. 


THE  ARABIC  LANGUAGE  249 

is  undoubtedly  its  wonderful  literature.  In  poetry  alone,  the 
Arabians  can  challenge  the  world ;  in  grammar,  logic  and 
rhetoric  the  number  of  their  works  is  legion;  while  both  at 
Bagdad  and  Cordova  Arab  historians  and  biographers  filled 
whole  libraries  with  their  learning ;  in  Cordova  the  royal  li- 
brary contained  400,000  volumes.  Algebra  and  Astronomy 
are  specially  indebted  to  the  Arabs ;  all  the  sciences  received 
attention  and  some  of  them  addition  from  the  Arabian  mind. 

The  Arabic  tongue  is  not  only  beautiful  but  it  is  difficult, 
exceedingly  difficult,  to  every  one  who  attempts  to  really 
master  it.  One  of  the  veteran  missionaries  of  Egypt  wrote,  in 
1864,  "I  would  rather  traverse  Africa  from  Alexandria  to  the 
Cape  of  Good  Hope,  than  undertake  a  second  time  to  master 
the  Arabic  language."  The  first  difficulty  is  its  correct  pro- 
nunciation. Some  Arabic  letters  cannot  be  transliterated  into 
English,  although  certain  grammars  take  infinite  pains  to  ac- 
complish the  impossible.  The  gutturals  belong  to  the  desert 
and  were  doubtless  borrowed  from  the  camel  when  she  com- 
plained of  overloading.  There  are  also  one  or  two  other 
letters  which  sorely  try  the  patience  of  the  beginner  and  in 
some  cases  remain  obstinate  to  the  end.  Then  the  student  soon 
learns,  and  the  sooner  the  better,  that  Arabic  is  totally  different 
in  construction  from  European  tongues  and  that  "as  far  as  the 
East  is  from  the  West"  so  far  he  must  modify  his  ideas  as  to 
the  correct  way  of  expressing  thought ;  and  this  means  to  dis- 
regard all  notions  of  Indo-European  grammar  when  in  touch 
with  the  sons  of  Shem.  Every  word  in  the  Arabic  language  is 
referred  to  a  root  of  three  letters.  These  roots  are  modified  by 
prefixes,  infixes  and  suffixes,  according  to  definite  models,  so 
that  from  one  root  a  host  of  words  can  be  constructed  and 
vice  versa,  from  a  compounded  word  all  the  servile  letters  and 
syllables  must  be  eliminated  to  find  the  original  root.  This 
digging  for  roots  and  building  up  of  roots  is  not  a  pastime  at 
the  outset  because  of  the  extent  of  the  root-garden.  Dozy's 
supplement  to  Lane's  Monumental  Arabic  Lexicon  has  1,714 


250  ARABIA,   THE  CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

pages.  So  large  in  fact  is  the  vocabulary  of  Arabic  writers 
that  the  classics  require  copious  explanatory  notes  for  the 
Arabs  themselves  and  some  of  them  have  Avritten  notes  on  the 
notes,  to  explain  the  difficult  words  used  in  explaining  others 
more  difficult.  Moreover  Arabic  literature  is  so  vast  in  its 
extent  that  acquaintance  with  the  vocabulary  of  a  dozen 
authors  in  one  line  of  literature  does  not  yet  enable  the  student 
to  appreciate  the  language  of  other  works.  You  may  be  able 
to  read  the  Koran  tolerably  well  and  understand  its  diction 
and  yet  when  you  turn  to  the  Arabian  Shakespeare  or  Milton 
find  yourself  literally  at  sea,  in  the  Kamoos,  and  unable  to 
understand  a  single  line. 

The  regular  verb  in  Arabic  has  fifteen  conjugations,  two 
voices,  two  tenses,  and  several  moods ;  the  irregular  verbs  are 
many  and  mysterious  to  the  beginner  although  grammarians 
try  to  make  them  appear  easier  by  demonstrating  that  all  their 
irregularities  are  strictly  logical,  not  the  result  of  linguistic  per- 
versity but  foreseen  calculation  and  providential  wisdom.  Is  it 
not  "  the  language  of  the  angels  "  ? — even  the  broken-plurals? 

As  a  final  testimony  to  the  difficulties  of  the  Arabic  language 
listen  to  Ion  Keith  Falconer.  After  passing  the  Semitic 
Languages  Tripos  at  Cambridge  under  Dr.  Wright,  and  taking 
a  special  course  in  Arabic  at  Leipzig,  he  writes  from  Assiut 
in  Egypt:  "I  am  getting  on  in  Arabic,  but  it  is  most  appall- 
ingly hard.  ...  I  have  learned  a  good  deal  and  can 
make  myself  intelligible  to  servants  and  porters.  I  have  a 
teacher  every  day  for  two  hours  and  translate  from  a  child's 
reading  book."  After  five  years  of  further  study  he  writes 
once  more  from  Aden  (Jan.  17,  1886),  "I  am  learning  to 
speak  Arabic  quite  nicely  but  it  will  be  long  before  I  can  de- 
liver real  discourses."  And  this  man  was  an  all-around 
scholar  with  a  passion  for  languages.  Without  any  doubt 
Arabic  is  one  of  the  most  difficult  languages  in  the  world  to 
acquire  with  any  degree  of  fluency,  and  progress  in  its  attain- 
ment means  ceaseless  plodding  and  endless  diligence. 


XXV 

THE   LITERATURE    OF   THE    ARABS 

'  I  "*HE  literature  of  the  Arabs  is  either  pre-Islamic  or  post- 
■*'  Islamic  ;  the  former  has  as  its  chief  classics  the  Muallakat 
or  seven  suspended  poems,  the  latter  finds  its  centre  and  apex  as 
well  as  its  origin  and  inspiration  in  the  Koran.  The  seven  an- 
cient poems,  still  extant,  are  also  called  Mnthahabat  or  the 
"golden  poems,  "  and  it  is  generally  admitted  by  Arabic  schol- 
ars that  this  was  indeed  the  golden  age  of  Arab  literature.  Zu- 
hair,  Zarafah,  Imru-1-Kais,  Amru-ibn-Kulsum,  Al  Harith,  'Antar 
and  Labid  were  the  authors  of  these  poems  and  all  but  the  last 
were  idolaters,  and  belong  to  what  the  conceit  of  Islam  calls 
"the  Time  of  Ignorance."  These  poems  furnished  the  model 
ever  afterward  for  later  writers  and,  according  to  Baron  de 
Slane,  are  remarkable  for  their  perfection  of  form  and  exhibit  a 
high  degree  of  linguistic  culture. 

But  the  Koran  has  eclipsed  all  that  ever  went  before  it  or  came 
after  it  in  the  eyes  of  the  Arabs.  It  is  the  paragon  of  literary 
perfection  as  well  as  of  moral  beauty.  Its  style  is  inimitable 
because  it  is  Divine  in  the  highest  sense  of  the  word.  To  criticise 
its  diction  is  to  be  guilty  of  blasphemy  and  to  compare  it  with 
other  literature  is  to  commit  sacrilege.  There  is  no  doubt  that 
the  chief  charm  of  the  Koran  from  a  literary  standpoint  is  its 
musical  jingle  and  cadence.  It  is  such  as  the  Arabs,  the  earliest 
masters  of  rhyme,  love,  and  servilely  imitate  in  all  their  later 
prose  works.  Our  English  translations  of  the  Koran,  although 
accurate,  (and  even  idiomatic,  as  Palmer's)  cannot  reproduce 
this  ;  in  consequence  the  book  appears  vapid,  monotonous  and 
to  the  last  degree  wearisome  and  uninteresting.  Attempts  have 
been  made  by  Burton  and   others  to  acquaint  English  readers 

251 


252  ARABIA,   THE   CRADLE   OF  ISLAM 

with  this  element  of  beauty  in  Mohammed's  revelation.  The 
following  ^  is  almost  equal  to  the  Arabic  itself,  and,  to  say  the 
least,  sounds  more  interesting  than  Sale's  prose  version  of  the 
same  passage : 

"  I  swear  by  the  splendor  of  light 
And  by  the  silence  of  night 
That  the  Lord  shall  never  forsake  thee 
Nor  in  His  hatred  take  thee  ; 
Truly  for  thee  shall  be  winning 
Better  than  all  beginning. 

Soon  shall  the  Lord  console  thee,  grief  no  longer  control  thee, 
And  fear  no  longer  cajole  thee. 

Thou  wert  an  orphan-boy,  yet  the  Lord  found  room  for  thy  head. 
When  thy  feet  went  astray,  were  they  not  to  the  right  path  led  ? 
Did  He  not  find  thee  poor,  yet  riches  around  thee  spread  ? 
Then  on  the  orphan-boy,  let  thy  proud  foot  never  tread. 
And  never  turn  avs'ay  the  beggar  who  asks  for  bread, 
But  of  the  Lord's  bounty  ever  let  praise  be  sung  and  said.'' 

It  is  not  to  be  expected  that  all  the  transcendant  excellencies 
and  miraculous  beauties  which  Moslem  commentators  find  in 
the  Koran  should  unveil  themselves  to  cold,  unsympathizing 
western  gaze,  but  that  the  book  has  a  certain  literary  beauty  no 
one  can  deny  who  has  read  it  in  the  original.  As  Penrice  says 
in  his  preface  to  his  Dictionary  of  the  Koran,  ' '  Beauties  there 
are  many  and  great ;  ideas  highly  poetical  are  clothed  in  rich 
and  appropriate  language,  which  not  unfrequently  rises  to  a 
sublimity  far  beyond  the  reach  of  any  translation  ;  but  it  is  un- 
fortunately the  case  that  many  of  those  graces  which  present 
themselves  to  the  admiration  of  the  finished  scholar  are  but  so 
many  stumbling-blocks  in  the  way  of  the  beginner ;  the  mar- 
vellous conciseness  which  adds  so  greatly  to  the  force  and  energy 
of  its  expressions  cannot  fail  to  perplex  him  while  the  frequent 
use  of  the  ellipse  leaves  in  his  mind  a  feeling  of  vagueness  not 
altogether  out  of  character  in  a  work  of  its  oracular  and  soi- 
disant  prophetic  nature." 
>  Found  in  the  Edinburgh  Review  for  July,  iS66,  article  "Mohammed." 


THE  LITERATURE   OF  THE  ARABS  253 

The  greatest  literary  treasure  of  the  Arabs  next  to  the  Koran 
is  the  Makamat  of  Al  Hariri.  No  one  of  polite  scholarship 
would  dare  profess  ignorance  of  this  great  classic,  and  the  reader 
of  these  "  Assemblies  "  is  introduced  to  every  branch  of  Moham- 
medan learning — poetry,  history,  antiquities,  theology  and  law. 
Recently  Hariri  has  been  translated  into  English  by  Chenery 
and  an  earlier  translation  by  Preston  has  also  been  printed. 
Stanley  Lane-Poole  reviewing  these  translations  thus  character- 
izes this  Shakespeare  of  the  Arabic  world  : 

"  It  is  difficult,  no  doubt,  for  most  Westerns  to  appreciate  the 
beauties  of  this  celebrated  classic.  There  is  no  cohesion,  no 
connecting  idea,  between  the  fifty  separate  '  Assemblies,  '  beyond 
the  regular  reappearance  of  an  egregious  Tartufe,  called  Abu- 
Zeyd,  a  Bohemian  of  brilliant  parts  and  absolutely  no  con- 
science, who  consistently  extracts  alms  from  assemblies  of  people 
in  various  cities,  by  preaching  eloquent  discourses  of  the  highest 
piety  and  morality,  and  then  goes  off  with  his  spoils  to  indulge 
secretly  in  triumphant  and  unhallowed  revels.  Even  in  this 
framework  there  is  no  attempt  at  originality ;  it  is  borrowed 
from  Hamadani,  the  'Wonder  of  the  Age.'  The  excellence 
lies  in  the  perfect  finish  :  the  matter  is  nothing ;  the  charm 
consists  in  the  form  alone.  Yet  this  form  is,  to  English  read- 
ers, exotic  and  artificial.  Among  its  special  merits,  in  the  eyes 
of  Easterns,  is  the  perpetual  employment  of  rimed  prose.  To 
us  this  is  apt  to  seem  at  once  monotonous  and  strained,  with 
its  antithetic  balance  in  sense,  and  jingle  of  sound  ;  but  to  the 
Arabs,  as  to  many  primitive  peoples,  either  riming  or  assonant 
prose  was  from  early  times  a  natural  mode  of  impassioned  and 
impressive  speech.  It  is  the  mode  adopted  constantly  and  with- 
out strain  in  the  Koran,  and  it  is  the  mode  into  which  an  histor- 
ian, such  as  Ibn-el-Athir,  falls  naturally  when  he  waxes  eloquent 
over  a  great  victory  or  a  famous  deed. 

"  But  if  we  do  not  care  for  rimed  prose,  there  is  plenty  be- 
sides in  Hariri  to  minister  to  varied  tastes.  In  these  wonderful 
'Assemblies,'  we  shall  find   every  kind  of  literary  form,  except 


254  ARABIA,   THE   CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

the  shambling  and  the  vulgar.  Pagan  rhetoric,  Moslem  ex- 
hortation, simple  verse,  elaborate  ode,  everything  that  the  im- 
measurable flexibility  of  the  Arabic  tongue  and  the  curious  art 
of  a  fastidious  scholar  could  achieve — all  is  here,  and  we  may 
take  our  choice." 

What  is  said  by  this  scholarly  critic  of  Hariri  holds  true  of 
most  Arabic  poetry,  it  lacks  unity  of  idea  and  sobriety  of  expres- 
sion. All  is  intense.  Every  beautiful  eye  is  a  narcissus ;  tears 
are  pearls  ;  teeth  are  pearls  or  hail-stones ;  lips  are  rubies ;  the 
gums,  pomegranate  blossoms;  piercing  eyes  are  swords,  and 
the  eyelids,  scabbards ;  a  mole  is  an  ant  creeping  to  suck  the 
honey  from  the  lips ;  a  handsome  face  is  a  full-moon  ;  an  erect 
form  is  the  letter  alif  as  penned  by  Wazir  Muhammed ;  black 
hair  is  night ;  the  waist  is  a  willow-branch  or  a  lance,  and  love 
is  always  passion.  Far-fetched  allusions  abound  and  the  sense 
at  every  turn  must  do  homage  to  the  sound.  In  the  judgment 
of  Baron  de  Slane  the  two  notable  exceptions  to  the  rule  are  Al 
Mutanabbi  and  Ibn  El  Farid  who  exhibit  a  daring  and  surpris- 
ing originality  often  approaching  the  sublime  and,  in  the  case 
of  the  latter,  mystic  reveries  and  spiritual  beauties  of  no  mean 
order. 

The  influence  of  the  Arabic  language  on  other  tongues  and 
peoples  has  also  been  great,  ever  since  the  rise  of  Islam.  The 
Persian  language  adopted  the  Arabic  alphabet  and  a  large 
number  of  Arabic  words  and  phrases ;  so  that,  as  Renan  re- 
marks, in  some  Persian  books  all  the  words  are  Arabic  and 
only  the  grammar  remains  in  the  vernacular.  As  for  Hindu- 
stani, three- fourths  of  its  vocabulary  consists  of  Arabic  words 
or  Arabic  words  derived  through  the  Persian.  The  Turkish 
language  also  is  indebted  for  many  words  taken  from  the 
Arabic  and  uses  the  Arabic  alphabet.  The  Malay  language, 
with  the  Moslem  conquest,  was  also  touched  by  Arabic  influ- 
ence and  likewise  adopted  its  alphabet.  In  Africa  its  influence 
was  yet  more  strongly  felt.  The  language  extended  over  all 
the  northern  half  of  the  continent  and  is  still  growing  in  use 


THE  LITERATURE   OF  THE  /1RABS  255 

to-day.  The  geographical  nomenclature  of  the  interior  is 
Arabic  and  Arabs  preceded  Livingstone,  Stanley  and  Speke  in 
all  their  journeys.  The  languages  of  the  southern  Sudan,  the 
Hausa,  and  even  those  of  Guinea  borrowed  largely  from  the 
Arabic.  Europe  itself  did  not  escape  the  influence  of  the 
conquering  Semitic  tongue.  Spanish  and  Portuguese  betray  a 
vast  number  of  Arabic  words  and  idioms.  French  and  Eng- 
lish are  also  indebted  to  Arabic  in  no  small  degree  for  many 
scientific  and  technical  words  introduced  at  the  time  of  the 
crusades  and  even  earlier.  Here  is  a  partial  list  of  those  which 
we  received  directly  or  indirectly  from  the  Arab  tongue,  as 
given  in  Skeat's  Etymological  Dictionary  and  arranged  into 
sentences ;  every  word  in  italics  is  of  Arabic  origin. 

"  The  Nabob  Mohammedan  Magazine  relates,  that  years  after 
the  Hegira,  a  saracen  caliph  or  Mameluke  sulta?i,  sat  with 
his  mussulman  emir,  admiral^  vizier,  moslem  m,iifti  and 
Koran-munshee,  (who  knew  alchemy  and  algebra  and  could 
cipher  the  azimuth  and  nadir  to  zero'),  sheikh  of  the  hareem, 
muezzin  and  tariff -dragoman  of  the  arsenal,  under  a  carob- 
tree,  on  sofas  of  mohair-mattress  covered  with  jerboa-  and 
gazelle-skins,  drinking  coffee,  saffron-elixer,  arrack,  alcohoi 
and  syrup  of  senna  carraivay  and  sumach.  For  tonic 
they  also  had  rose-attar,  artichokes,  alkaline-nitre  in  myrrh, 
taraxacum,  otto-sherbet,  and  naphtha  in  amber  cups.  The 
Sultan' s  infant  daughter  wore  a  carmine  cotton-dxvd^-muslin 
chemise  or  diaper  with  a  civet  talisman  and  jasper  amulet ; 
she  played  a  Tartar  lute.  Suddenly  a  giaour  Bedouin 
assassin  with  an  assagai  and  hookah-7nasque  came  down  on 
them  from  behind  an  alcove  of  the  neighboring  arabesque 
mosque  minaret  like  a  sirocco-simoon  or  monsooji  and  killed 
them  all." 

Most  of  these  words  came  from  the  Arabic  through  other  lan- 
guages such  as  French  and  Spanish ;  others  were  directly 
transferred  from  the  Arabic  to  English ;  and  still  others  have 
passed  the  long  journey  from  Arabic  to  Greek,  to  Latin,  to 


256  /IR^BU,   THE  CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

Italian,  to  French  and  thence  to  Enghsh.  The  word  viagazine 
is  perhaps  the  best  example  of  how  an  Arabic-root  found 
shelter  in  the  soil  of  all  the  European  languages  and  grew  into 
manifold  significations  from  its  original  meaning  with  the 
Arabs,  ghazana=to  collect  or  store. 

In  modern  days,  especially  since  the  opening  of  the  Suez 
canal,  the  English  language  is  beginning  to  exert  its  influence 
on  Arabic.  In  Egypt,  Syria  and  the  Persian  Gulf  many  Eng- 
lish commercial  terms  are  being  adopted  into  the  language  and 
the  newspapers  spread  their  use  everywhere. 

Last,  but  not  least,  there  is  the  immense,  incalculable  influ- 
ence on  the  Arabic-tongue  for  all  time  exerted  by  the  toil  and 
sacrifice  of  the  early  missionaries  to  Syria  through  their  col- 
lege and  press  in  giving  to  the  world  a  modern  Christian  and 
scientific  literature  and  that  crowning  work  of  Drs.  Eli  Smith 
and  C.  V.  A.  Van  Dyck — the  Arabic  Bible.  The  mission 
press  at  Beirut  has  four  hundred  and  eighty  three  volumes  on 
its  catalogue  and  prints  about  twenty-five  million  pages  an- 
nually.^ The  Arabic  Bible  "one  of  the  noblest  literally  monu- 
ments of  the  age  "  will  yet  prove  a  mighty  influence  in  purify- 
ing and  ennobling  the  language  and  preserving  its  classical  dic- 

' "  It  would  take  a  long  list  to  exhaust  the  religious,  literary  and 
scentific  contributions  to  the  Arabic  language  from  the  missionaries  in 
Syria.  They  include  the  translation  of  the  Scriptures  and  the  stereotyping 
of  the  same  in  numerous  styles ;  tlie  preparation  of  a  Scripture  guide, 
commentaries,  a  concordance,  and  a  complete  hymn  and  tune  book ; 
text-books  in  history,  algebra,  geometry,  trigonometry,  logarithms,  as- 
tronomy, meteorology,  botany,  zoology,  physics,  chemistry,  anatomy, 
physiology,  hygiene,  materia  medica,  practice  of  physic,  surgery,  and  a 
periodical  literature  which  has  proved  the  stimulus  to  a  very  extensive 
native  journalism.  The  Protestant  converts  of  the  mission,  educated  by 
the  missionaries,  have  written  elaborate  works  on  history,  poetry,  gram- 
mar, arithmetic,  natural  science,  and  the  standard  dictionary  of  the  lan- 
guage, and  a  cyclopaedia  which  will  make  a  library  by  itself,  consisting  of 
about  twenty  volumes  of  from  six  hundred  to  eight  hundred  pages  each." 
— Dr.  G.  E.  Post,  ill  Akw  York  Evangelist. 


THE  LITERATURE   OF  THE   ARABS 


257 


tion  to  the  utmost  bounds  of  the  Arab-world.  There  was  only 
one  Koran  and  there  will  be  only  one  Arabic  Bible — the 
finished  product  of  American  scholarship  and  her  best  gift  to 
the  Mohammedan  world. 


♦^    V 


ni^ijc       \AWiu-  j^Uii,iai\^j^ 


TITLE  PAGE  OF  A  CHRISTIAN  PAPER  PRINTED  IN  ARABIC. 


XXVI 

THE   ARAB 

"  Children  of  Shem  !     Firstborn  of  Noah's  race 

And  still  forever  children  ;  at  the  door 
Of  Eden  found,  unconscious  of  disgrace, 

And  loitering  on  while  all  are  gone  before ; 
Too  proud  to  dig,  too  careless  to  be  poor 

Taking  the  gifts  of  God  in  thanklessness, 
Not  rendering  aught,  nor  supplicating  more, 

Nor  arguing  with  Him  if  He  hide  His  face. 
Yours  is  the  rain  and  sunshine,  and  the  way 

Of  an  old  wisdom,  by  our  world  forgot. 
The  courage  of  a  day  which  knew  not  death; 

Well  may  we  sons  of  Japhet,  in  dismay. 
Pause  in  our  vain  mad  fight  for  life  and  breath, 

Beholding  you. — I  bow  and  reason  not." — Anon. 

/CONCERNING  the  origin  of  the  tribes  and  people  that 
^^  now  inhabit  the  Arabian  peninsula  there  is  disagreement 
among  the  learned.  It  is  generally  held  that  the  original 
tribes  of  Northern  Arabia  are  descendants  of  Ishmael.  This 
is  also  the  tradition  of  all  Arab  historians.  As  to  the  South 
Arabians,  who  occupied  their  highlands  with  the  Hadramaut 
coast  for  centuries  before  the  Ishmaelites  appeared  on  the  scene 
there  are  two  opinions.  Some  believe  them  to  be  descendants 
of  Joktan  (Arabic  Kahtaii)  the  son  of  Heber  and  therefore, 
like  the  Northern  Arabs,  true  Semites.  Others  think  that  the 
earliest  inhabitants  of  South  Arabia  were  Cushites  or  Hamitic ; 
while  some  German  scholars  hold  that  in  the  earlier  Arabs  the 
children  of  Joktan  and  of  Gush  were  blended  into  one  race. 

Among  the  Ishmaelites  are  included  not  only  Ishmael' s  direct 
descendants  through  the  twelve  princes/  but  theEdomites,  Moa- 
1  Gen.  XXV.  i6. 
258 


THE  ARAB  259 

bites,  Ammonites,  Midianites  and  probably  other  cognate  tribes. 
The  names  of  the  sons  of  Ishmael  in  relation  to  their  settlements 
and  the  traces  of  these  names  in  modern  Arabia  is  a  subject 
which  has  been  taken  up  by  Bible  dictionaries  but  which 
still  offers  an  interesting  field  for  further  study.  The  Arabs 
themselves  have  always  claimed  Abrahamic  descent  for  the 
tribes  of  the  north.  The  age-long,  racial  animosity  between 
the  Yemenites  and  Maadites  seems  to  confirm  the  theory  of  two 
distinct  races  inhabiting  the  peninsula  from  very  early  times  ; 
and  they  remain  distinct  until  to-day  in  spite  of  a  common 
language  and  a  common  religion.  "The  animosity  of  these 
two  races  to  each  other  is  unaccountable  but  invincible.  Like 
two  chemical  products  which  instantly  explode  when  placed 
in  contact,  so  has  it  always  been  found  impossible  for  Yemenite 
and  Maadite  to  live  quietly  together.  At  the  present  day  the 
Yemenite  in  the  vicinity  of  Jerusalem  detests  the  Maadite  of 
Hebron,  and  when  questioned  as  to  the  reason  of  their  eternal 
enmity  has  no  other  reply  but  that  it  has  been  so  from  time  im- 
memorial. In  the  time  of  the  Caliphs  the  territory  of  Damas- 
cus was  desolated  by  a  murderous  war  for  two  years,  because  a 
Maadite  had  taken  alemon  from  the  garden  of  a  Yemenite. 
The  province  of  Murcia  in  Spain  was  deluged  with  blood  for 
seven  years  because  a  Maadite  inadvertently  plucked  a  Yemen- 
ite vine-leaf.  It  was  a  passion  which  surmounted  every  tie  of 
affection  or  interest.  '  You  have  prayed  for  your  father  :  why 
do  you  not  pray  for  your  mother  ?  '  a  Yemenite  was  asked  near 
the  Kaaba.  '  For  my  mother  !  '  said  the  Yemenite,  '  How  could 
I  ?     She  was  of  the  race  of  Maad.'  "  ' 

The  Yemenites  at  a  very  early  period  founded  the  strong 
and  opulent  Himyarite  Kingdom.  The  Himyarites  were  the 
navigators  of  the  East  and  they  were  celebrated  for  their  skill 
in  manufacture  as  well  as  for  enterprise  in  commerce  ;  they  had 
a  written  language,  inscriptions  in  which  were  discovered  all 
over  south  Arabia  during  the  present  century.  The  Maadite  or 
'  In  the  Edinburgh  Revicto,  July,  1866. 


260  yiRABM,   THE   CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

Ishmaelite  Arabs  on  the  contrary  were  more  nomad  in  their 
habits  and  were  masters  of  the  caravans  which  carried  the 
enormous  overland  trade  by  the  two  great  trunk-lines  of  antiq- 
uity, from  the  East  to  the  West.  One  of  these  lines  extended 
from  Aden,  (Arabia  Emporium  of  Ptolemy)  along  the  western 
part  of  the  peninsula  and  through  Yemen  to  Egypt ;  the  other 
extended  from  Babylon  to  Tadmor  and  Damascus.  A  third 
route,  nearly  as  important,  was  also  in  the  hands  of  the  Ish- 
maelite Arabs,  by  Wady  Rumma  and  Nejd  to  the  old  capital 
of  the  Himyarites,  Mareb.^  These  caravans  unified  the  Arab- 
ian peninsula  and  fused  into  one  its  two  peoples ;  the  northern 
Arabs  receiving  somewhat  of  the  southern  civilization  and  the 
southern  Arabs  adopting  the  language  of  the  north.  But  the 
decline  in  the  caravan  trade  brought  disaster  to  Arabia ;  the 
ship  of  the  desert  found  a  competitor  in  the  ships  of  the  sea. 
Old  settlements  were  broken  up,  great  cities,  which  flourished 
because  of  overland  trade,  were  abandoned  and  whole  tribes 
were  reduced  from  opulence  to  poverty.  In  this  time  of  transi- 
tion, long  before  the  birth  of  Mohammed,  the  Arabic  nation 
as  it  is  known  to  modern  history  seems  to  have  been  formed. 

The  modern  Arabs  classify  themselves  into  Bedouins  and 
town-dwellers;  or,  in  their  own  poetic  way,  ahl  el  belt  z\\^  ahl 
el  K  eit,  "  the  people  of  the  tent,"  and  "the  people  of  the  wall." 
But  this  classification  is  hardly  sufficient,  although  it  has  been 
generally  adopted  by  writers  on  Arabia.  Edson  L.  Clark,  in 
his  book.  The  Arabs  and  the  Turks,  gives  five  classes:  "Be- 
ginning at  the  lowest  round  of  the  ladder  we  have  first  the  sed- 
entary or  settled  Arabs  .  .  .  who  though  still  many  of 
them  dwelling  in  tents  have  become  cultivators  of  the  soil.  By 
their  nomadic  brethren  these  settled  Arabs  are  thoroughly  de- 
spised as  degraded  and  denationalized  by  the  change  in  their 
mode  of  life.  Secondly,  the  wandering  tribes  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  the  settled  districts,  and  in  constant  intercourse  with 

1  International  Routes  of  Asia,  by  Elisee  Reclus,  in  New  York  Itidefetid- 
eiil,  May  4,  1899. 


THE  /IRAB  261 

their  inhabitants.  Both  these  classes,  but  more  especially  the  lat- 
ter, are  thoroughly  demoralized.  .  .  .  The  third  class  consists 
of  the  Arabs  of  the  Turkish  towns  and  villages ;  but  they  too 
are  a  degenerate  class  both  in  language  and  character. 
The  fourth  class  consists  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  towns  and 
villages  of  Arabia  proper,  who  by  their  peculiar  situation  have 
remained  more  secluded  from  the  rest  of  the  world  than  even 
the  wandering  tribes.  .  .  .  Finally  the  great  nomadic 
tribes  of  the  interior,  still  preserving  unchanged  the  primitive 
character,  habits  and  customs  of  their  race."  This  last  class 
and  this  alone  are  the  real  Bedouins. 

In  addition  to  this  classification  according  to  civilization 
there  is  the  universal  genealogical  classification  ;  and  no  people 
in  the  world  are  fonder  of  genealogies  than  the  Arabs.  The 
names  of  tribes  and  families  go  back,  in  many  cases  to  pre- 
islamic  days.  The  earliest  tribal-names,  therefore,  are  either 
taken  from  animals  or  totem-names,  like  Panthers,  Dogs,  Liz- 
ards, e.  g.,  Aninar  Kilah,  Dibab,  etc;  place-names  trans- 
formed afterward  by  the  genealogists  into  ancestors,  e.  g., 
Hadramaut,  Hauab ;  or  from  idols  and  idol-worship,  e.  g., 
Abd  el  Kais,  Abd  al  Laf,  etc.  But  the  later  system  of  geneal- 
ogies as  given  by  the  Arabs  are  utterly  unreliable  because  they 
are  so  evidently  artificial.  The  backbone  of  the  system  was 
the  pedigree  of  Mohammed  and  this  is  notoriously  untrust- 
worthy. "  Dummy  ancestors  "  were  inserted  in  order  to  con- 
nect a  particular  but  unimportant  tribe  with  a  distinguished  one, 
and  Hamdani  himself  tells  us  that  he  found  it  a  common  prac- 
tice of  obscure  desert  groups  to  call  themselves  by  the  name  of 
some  more  famous  tribe. ^ 

Character  is  difficult  to  define.  To  depict  the  moral  phys- 
iognomy of  a  nation  and  their  physical  traits  in  such  a  way 
that  nothing  important  is  omitted  and  no  single  characteristic 
exaggerated  at  the  cost  of  others.  This  difficulty  is  increased 
in  the  case  of  the  Arabs,  by  their  twofold  origin  and  their 
'Smith's  Kinship  and  Marriage  in  Early  Arabia,  pp.  9,  17,  131. 


262  /iRABIA,    THE   CRADLE   OF  ISLAM 

present  twofold  civilization.  That  which  is  true  of  the  town- 
dweller,  is  not  always  true  of  the  Bedouin  and  vice  versa. 
Moreover  the  influence  of  the  neighboring  countries  must  be 
taken  into  account.  Eastern  Arabia  has  taken  color  by  long  con- 
tact with  Persia ;  this  is  seen  in  speech,  architecture,  food  and 
dress.  Southern  Arabia,  especially  Hadramaut,  has  absorbed 
East  Indian  ideas.  While  Western  Arabia^  especially  Hejaz, 
shows  in  many  ways  its  proximity  to  Egypt.  Not  losing  sight 
of  these  distinctions,  which  will  account  for  many  exceptions 
to  the  general  statements  made,  what  is  the  character  of  the 
Arabs  ? 

Physically,  they  are  undoubtedly  one  of  the  strongest  and 
noblest  races  of  the  world.  Baron  de  Larrey,  surgeon-general 
of  the  first  Napoleon,  in  his  expeditions  to  Egypt  and  Syria, 
says  :  "Their  physical  structure  is  in  all  respects  more  perfect 
than  that  of  Europeans ;  their  organs  of  sense  exquisitely  acute, 
their  size  above  the  average  of  men  in  general,  their  figure  ro- 
bust and  elegant,  the  color  brown ;  their  intelligence  propor- 
tionate to  their  physical  perfection,  and  without  doubt  superior, 
other  things  being  equal,  to  that  of  other  nations." 

The  typical  Arab  face  is  round-oval,  but  the  general  leanness 
of  the  features  detracts  from  its  regularity ;  the  bones  are 
prominent ;  the  eyebrows  long  and  bushy ;  the  eye  small,  deep- 
set,  fiery  black  or  a  dark,  deep  brown.  The  face  expresses 
half  dignity,  half  cunning,  and  is  not  unkindly,  although  never 
smihng  or  benignant.  The  teeth  are  white,  even,  short  and 
broad.  The  Arabs  have  very  scanty  beards  as  a  rule,  but  those 
of  the  towns  often  cultivate  a  patriarchal  beard  like  the  tradi- 
tional beard  of  the  prophet.  The  figure  is  well-knit,  muscu- 
lar, long-limbed,  never  fat.  The  arms  and  legs  are  thin,  al- 
most shrunken,  but  with  muscles  like  whip-cords.  As  young 
men  the  Bedouins  are  often  good-looking,  with  bright  eyes  and 
dark  hair,  but  the  constant  habit  of  frowning  to  protect  the  eyes 
from  the  glare  of  the  sun,  soon  gives  the  face  a  fierce  aspect ;  at 
forty  their  beards  turn  grey  and  at  fifty  they  appear  old  men. 


THE  ARAB  263 

It  is  a  common  mistake  to  consider  the  Arabs  democratic  in 
their  ideas  of  society.  The  genuine  Arab  was  and  is  always 
an  aristocrat.  Feuds  originate  about  the  precedence  of  one 
family  or  tribe  over  another ;  marriage  is  only  allowed  between 
tribes  or  clans  of  equal  standing  ;  the  whole  system  of  sheikh- 
government  is  an  aristocratic  idea ;  and  as  final  proof  there 
still  exists  a  species  of  caste  in  South  Arabia,  while  in  North 
Arabia  the  Ma'adan  Arabs  of  Mesopotamia  and  the  Suleyb  of 
the  desert  are  little  better  than  Pariahs  as  regards  their  neigh- 
bors. It  is  with  a  heavy  heart  that  any  Arab  sees  set  over  him 
a  man  of  less  noble  extraction  than  himself.  The  religion  of 
Arabia  has  made  its  people  fanatics,  although  according  to 
Noldeke,  "  fanaticism  is  characteristic  of  all  Semitic  religions." 
But  he  forgets  the  real  distinction  between  intolerance  of  another 
religion  on  ethical  grounds  as  in  the  case  of  Judaism,  and  the 
infinitely  hard,  one-sided,  crude  exclusiveness  of  Islam. 

The  Arabs  rarely  have  the  power  of  taking  in  complex  unities 
at  a  glance ;  the  talent  for  arrangement  is  absent.  An  Arab  car- 
penter cannot  draw  a  right  angle,  nor  can  an  Arab  servant  lay 
a  tablecloth  square  on  the  table.  The  old  Arab  temple  called 
a  cube  (Kaaba)  has  none  of  its  sides  or  angles  equal ;  their 
houses  show  the  same  lack  of  the  "  carpenter's  eye"  to-day. 
Streets  are  seldom  parallel ;  even  the  street,  so-called,  was  not 
straight  in  Damascus.  The  Arab  mind  loves  units,  not  unity ; 
they  are  good  soldiers,  but  poor  generals ;  there  is  no  partner- 
ship in  business ;  and  no  public  spirit ;  each  man  lives  for 
himself.  That  is  the  reason  why  Yemen  cannot  shake  off  the 
yoke  of  the  Turk,  and  this  explains  why  the  smallest  towns  in 
Arabia  have  a  great  many  little  mosques.  The  Arab  has  a 
keen  eye  for  particulars,  great  subjectivity,  nervous  restlessness, 
deep  passion  and  inward  feeling,  and  yet  joined  with  strong 
conservatism  and  love  of  the  past.  In  everything  he  follows 
old  models  and  traditions ;  witness  their  poetry  and  their  tent- 
life — in  Arab  phrase,  termed  their  ' '  houses  of  hair  ' '  and  their 
"houses  of  poetry."     As  a  result  of  their  language-structure, 


264  ARABIA,   THE   CRADLE   OF  ISLAM 

the  Arabs  have  naturally  a  strong  tendency  to  a  pointed,  sharp 
speech  of  epigrammatic  brevity,  but  also  go  to  the  other  ex- 
treme of  ornate  tautology.  The  former  is  characteristic  of  the 
desert;  the  latter  of  the  towns  Eloquence  and  poetry  are 
still  worshipped.  The  only  fine  art  which  Arabs  admire  is  that 
of  caligraphy ;  and  those  who  have  seen  finished  specimens  of 
an  Arab  master-penman,  must  acknowledge  that  in  them  are  all 
the  elements  of  painting  and  sculpture. 

The  Arabs  are  polite,  good-natured,  lively,  manly,  patient, 
courageous  and  hospitable  to  a  fault.  They  are  also  conten- 
tious, untruthful,  sensuous,  distrustful,  covetous,  proud  and 
superstitious.  One  must  always  keep  in  mind  this  paradox  in 
dealing  with  an  Arab.  As  Clark  expresses  it,  "an  Arab  will 
lie  and  cheat,  and  swear  any  number  of  false  oaths,  in  a 
pecuniary  transaction ;  but  when  once  his  faith  is  pledged  he 
can  be  implicitly  trusted,  even  to  the  last  extremity."  There 
are  Arab  oaths  such  as  wallah,  which  are  intended  to  confirm 
falsehoods  and  signify  nothing.  There  are  others,  such  as  the 
threefold  oath,  with  wa,  bi  and  //  as  particles  of  swearing, 
which  not  even  the  vilest  robber  among  them  dare  break. 
Grammatically,  the  two  oaths  are  nearly  the  same. 

Robbery  is  a  fine  art  among  the  nomads ;  but  the  high- 
minded  Arab  robs  lawfully,  honestly  and  honorably.  He  will 
not  attack  his  victims  in  the  night ;  he  tries  to  avoid  all  blood- 
shed by  coming  with  overwhelming  force ;  and  if  his  enterprise 
miscarries,  he  boldly  enters  the  first  tent  possible,  proclaims  his 
true  character  and  asks  protection.  The  Dakheil,  or  privilege 
of  sanctuary,  the  salt  covenant,  the  blood  covenant  and  the 
sacredness  of  the  guest,  all  prove  that  the  Arabs  are  trust- 
worthy. And  yet,  in  the  ordinary  affairs  of  life,  lying  and  de- 
ception are  the  rule  and  seldom  the  exception.  The  true  Arab 
is  niggardly  when  he  buys,  and  will  haggle  for  hours  to  reduce 
a  price ;  and  yet  he  is  prodigal  and  lavish  in  giving  away  his 
goods  to  prove  his  hospitality. 

According  to  Burckhardt,  the  Arab  is  the  only  real  lover  of 


THE  /1RAB  265 

the  Orient ;  if  he  limits  this  t!_.  the  Bedouin-Arab  he  is  correct. 
In  matters  of  love  and  marriage  the  Arab  of  the  towns  is  what 
Mohammed,  the  Meccan  merchant  was,  after  the  death  of  the 
old  lady  Khadijah.  But  Arabic  poetry  of  the  times  of  igno- 
rance does  occasionally  breathe  the  true  tale  of  love  and  chiv- 
alry ;  and  the  desert  Arabs  as  a  rule  are  not  polygamists  nor 
given  to  divorce. 

It  was  a  law  among  the  ancient  Arabs  that  whoever  sheds  the 
blood  of  a  man  owes  blood  on  that  account  to  the  family  of  the 
slain.  This  law  of  blood-revenge  was  confirmed  by  the  Koran 
and  is  a  sacred  right  everywhere  in  Arabia.  An  Arab  is  con- 
sidered degenerate  who  accepts  a  fine  or  any  consideration  save 
blood  for  blood.  This  law  is  both  the  cause  of  continual 
feuds,  and  tends  to  terminate  them  without  much  bloodshed. 
Arabs  of  the  town  and  of  the  desert  will  quarrel  for  hours 
without  coming  to  blows ;  it  is  not  cowardice  that  prevents  an 
open  encounter,  but  the  fear  of  shedding  blood  and  blood-re- 
venge. 

Family  life  among  the  Arabs  is  best  studied  by  looking  at 
child-life  in  the  desert  and  at  the  position  of  women  among  the 
Bedouin  and  the  town-dwellers.  In  no  part  of  the  world  does 
the  newborn  child  meet  less  preparation  for  its  reception  than 
among  the  Bedouin.  A  land  bare  of  many  blessings,  general 
poverty  and  the  law  of  the  survival  of  the  fittest,  has  made  the 
Arab  mother  stern  of  heart.  In  the  open  desert  under  the 
shade  of  an  acacia  bush  or  behind  a  camel,  the  Arab  baby  first 
sees  the  daylight.  As  soon  as  it  is  born  the  mother  herself  rubs 
and  cleans  the  child  with  sand,  places  it  in  her  handkerchief 
and  carries  it  home.  She  suckles  the  child  for  a  short  period, 
and  at  the  age  of  four  months  it  already  drinks  profusely  of 
camels'  milk.  A  name  is  given  to  the  infant  immediately ; 
generally  from  some  trifling  incident  connected  with  its  birth, 
or  from  some  object  whicli  attracts  the  mother's  fancy.  Mos- 
lem names  such  as  Hassan  Ali  or  Fatimah,  are  extremely  un- 
common among  the  true  Bedouins ;   although   Mohammed  is 


266  /iRABl/i,   THE   CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

sometimes  given.  Beside  his  own  peculiar  name  every  Bedouin 
boy  is  called  by  the  name  of  his  father  and  tribe.  And  what 
is  more  remarkable,  boys  are  often  called  after  their  sisters, 
e.  g.,  Akhoo  Noorah,  the  brother  of  Noorah.  Girls'  names 
are  taken  from  the  constellations,  birds,  or  desert  animals  like 
Gazelle. 

In  education  the  Arab  is  a  true  child  of  nature.  His  parents 
leave  him  to  his  own  sweet  will :  they  seldom  chastise  and 
seldom  praise.  Trained  from  birth  in  the  hard  school  of 
nomad  life,  fatigue  and  danger  do  contribute  much  to  his  edu- 
cation. Burckhardt  says,  "  I  have  seen  parties  of  naked  boys 
playing  at  noonday  upon  the  burning  sand  in  the  middle  of 
summer,  running  until  they  had  fatigued  themselves,  and  when 
they  returned  to  their  fathers'  tents  they  were  scolded  for  not 
continuing  the  exercise.  Instead  of  teaching  the  boy  civil 
manners,  the  father  desires  him  to  beat  and  pelt  the  strangers 
who  come  to  the  tent ;  to  steal  or  secrete  some  trifling  article 
belonging  to  them.  The  more  saucy  and  impudent  children 
are  the  more  they  are  praised  since  this  is  taken  as  an  indica- 
tion of  future  enterprise  and  warlike  disposition.  Bedouin 
children,  male  and  female,  go  unclad  and  play  together  until 
their  sixth  year.  The  first  child's  festival  is  that  of  circum- 
cision. At  the  age  of  seven  years  the  day  is  fixed,  sheep  are 
killed  and  a  large  dish  of  food  is  cooked.  Women  accompany 
the  operation  with  a  loud  song  and  afterward  there  is  dancing 
and  horseback  riding  and  encounters  with  lances.  The  girls 
adorn  themselves  with  cheap  jewelry  and  tent-poles  are  deco- 
rated with  ostrich  feathers.     Altogether  it  is  a  gala-day. 

The  Bedouin  children  have  few  toys  but  they  manage  to 
amuse  themselves  with  many  games.  I  have  seen  a  group  of 
happy  children,  each  with  a  pet  locust  on  a  bit  of  string, 
watching  whose  steed  should  win  the  race.  The  boys  make 
music  out  of  desert-grass  winding  it  in  curious  fashion  to  re- 
semble a  horn,  and  calling  it  Masoor.  In  Yemen  and  Nejd  a 
sling,  like  David's,  with  pebbles  from  the  brook  is  a  lad's  first 


THE  ARAB  2G7 

Weapon.  Afterward  he  acquires  a  lance  and  perhaps  an  old 
discarded  bowie-knife.  The  children  of  the  desert  have  no 
books.  ^  But,  of  paper,  they  have  the  Book  of  Nature.  This 
magnificent  picture  book  is  never  more  diligently  studied  than 
by  those  little  dark  eyes  which  watch  the  sheep  at  pasture  or 
count  the  stars  in  the  blue  abyss  from  their  perch  on  a  lofty 
camel's  saddle  in  the  midnight  journeyings. 

When  the  Bedouin  lad  grows  up,  and  begins  to  swear  by  the 
few  straggling  hairs  on  his  chin,  he  cannot  read  a  letter,  but 
he  knows  men  and  he  knows  the  desert.  The  talk  heard  at 
night  around  the  Sheikh's  tent  or  the  acacia-brush  fireside  is 
much  like  the  wisdom  of  the  book  of  Job.  A  philosophy  of 
submission  to  the  world  as  it  is ;  a  deification  of  stoicism  or 
patience ;  a  profound  trust  that  all  will  end  well  at  last.  Sad 
to  say  even  the  little  nomads,  with  their  ignorance  of  all  re- 
ligion, share  in  the  fanatical  antagonism  of  their  elders  toward 
the  Christian  religion  and  Christians.  One  of  their  games,  in 
Nejd,  is  to  draw  a  cross  on  the  desert  sand  and  then  defile  it ; 
they  learn  that  all  outside  the  pale  of  Mohammed's  creed  are 
kajirs  and  to  please  Allah  are  glad  to  throw  stones  at  any  way- 
faring Nasrani.  Little  do  the  Bedouins  and  still  less  do  their 
children,  however,  know  of  the  religion  of  Islam.  The  Koran 
is  not  a  book  for  children's  minds  and  of  such  is  not  the  king- 
dom of  Mohammed. 

The  Bedouin  child  early  puts  away  childish  things.  To 
western  eyes  the  children  of  Arabia  appear  like  little  old  men 
and  women  ;  and  the  grown-up  people  have  minds  like  chil- 
dren. This  is  another  paradox  of  the  Arab-character.  At  ten 
years  the  boy  is  sent  to  drive  camels  and  the  girl  to  herd 
sheep ;  at  fifteen  they  are  both  on  the  way  to  matrimony.  He 
wears  the  garb  of  a  man  and  boasts  a  matchlock ;  she  takes  to 
spinning  camel  hair  and  sings  the  songs  of  the  past.  Their 
brief  childhood  is  over.     In  the  towns  marriage  takes  place 

1  What  the  boys  and  girls  of  the  towns  can  study  we  have  described  in 
our  chapter  on  Mecca. 


S68  ARy4BU,   THE  CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

even  earlier ;  and  there  are  boys  of  eighteen  who  have  already 
divorced  two  wives. 

Among  the  Bedouins  polygamy  is  not  common  nor  is  it 
among  the  poorer  Arabs  of  the  towns.  The  marriage  cere- 
mony among  the  Bedouins  is  as  simple  as  it  is  long  and  com- 
plex among  the  townsmen.  After  the  negotiations  which  pre- 
cede the  marriage  contract,  the  bridegroom  comes  with  a  lamb 
in  his  arms  to  the  tent  of  the  girl's  father  and  there  cuts  the 
lamb's  throat  before  witnesses.  As  soon  as  the  blood  falls  on 
the  ground  the  contract  is  sealed ;  feasting  and  dancing  follow, 
and  at  night  the  bride  is  conducted  to  the  bridegroom's  tent 
where  he  is  awaiting  her  arrival.  Dowrys  are  paid  more  gen- 
erally and  more  largely  in  the  towns  than  in  the  desert. 
Among  certain  Arab  tribes  a  demand  of  money  for  the  hand 
of  a  bride  would  be  deemed  scandalous.  From  a  western 
standpoint  the  women  of  the  Bedouin  stand  on  a  higher  plat- 
form of  liberty  and  justice  than  those  of  the  towns  where  the 
Koran  has  done  its  work  on  one  half  of  society  to  repress  in- 
tellect and  degrade  affection,  and  sensualize  the  sexual  relation 
to  the  last  degree.  On  the  other  hand  divorce  is  perhaps  more 
common  among  the  Bedouins,^  than  among  the  city  Arabs. 
Burckhardt  met  Arabs  not  yet  forty-five  years  of  age  who  were 
known  to  have  had  above  fifty  wives.  Concerning  the  mar- 
riage-contract in  the  towns,  the  ceremony,  the  divorce  proceed- 
ings, and  the  methods  by  which  that  is  made  legal  which  even 
the  lax  law  of  Islam  condemns,  the  less  said  the  better. 

On  the  position  of  women  in  Arabia  we  quote  four  unim- 
peachable witnesses  who  have  nothing  in  common  save  their 
knowledge  of  the  subject ;  there  is  truth  on  both  sides  where 
they  differ  ;  where  they  agree  there  is  no  question  of  certainty 
as  to  the  fact. 

Doughty,  the  Christian  explorer,  whose  volumes  are  a  mine 
of  information  says  :  ^  "  The  female  is  of  all  animals  the  better, 

1  This  is  the  testimony  of  Burckhardt  and  Doughty. 

'^  Arabia  Deserta,  Vol.  I.,  p.  238. 


THE  ARAB  269 

say  the  Arabians,  save  only  in  mankind.  Upon  the  human 
female  the  Semites  cast  all  their  blame.  Hers  is,  they  think,  a 
maleficent  nature,  and  the  Arabs  complain  that  '  she  has  seven 
lives.'  The  Arabs  are  contrary  to  womankind,  upon  whom 
they  would  have  God's  curse;  some,  they  say,  are  poisoners 
of  husbands  and  there  are  many  adulteresses.  .  .  .  The 
horma  [/.  e.,  woman]  they  would  have  under  subjection  \  ad- 
mitted to  an  equality,  the  ineptitude  of  her  evil  nature  will 
break  forth.  They  check  her  all  day  at  home  and  let  her 
never  be  enfranchised  from  servitude.  The  veil  and  the  jeal- 
ous lattice  are  rather  of  the  obscene  Mohammedan  austerity  in 
the  towns ;  among  the  mild  tent-dwellers  in  the  open  wilder- 
ness the  housewives  have  a  liberty  as  where  all  are  kindred ; 
yet  their  hareem  are  now  seen  in  the  most  Arabian  tribes  half- 
veiled." 

BuRCKHARDT,  the  time-honored  authority  on  things  Arabian, 
writes  :  "  The  Bedouins  are  jealous  of  their  women,  but  do  not 
prevent  them  from  laughing  and  talking  with  strangers.  It 
seldom  happens  that  a  Bedouin  strikes  his  wife  ;  if  he  does  so 
she  calls  loudly  on  her  ivasy  or  protector  who  pacifies  the  hus- 
band and  makes  him  listen  to  reason.  .  .  .  The  wife  and 
daughters  perform  all  the  domestic  business.  They  grind  the 
wheat  in  the  handmill  or  pound  it  in  the  mortar ;  they  prepare 
the  breakfast  and  dinner ;  knead  and  bake  the  bread ;  make 
butter,  fetch  water,  work  at  the  loom,  mend  the  tent-covering 
and  are,  it  must  be  owned,  indefatigable.  While  the  husband 
or  brother  sits  before  the  tent  smoking  his  pipe." 

Lady  Ann  Blunt,  who  travelled  among  the  tribes  of  the 
Euphrates  valley  with  her  husband,  speaks  thus  from  a 
woman's  standpoint:  "Of  the  Bedouin  women  a  shorter  de- 
scription will  be  enough.  As  girls  they  are  pretty  in  a  wild 
picturesque  way  and  almost  always  have  cheerful,  good-natured 
faces.  They  are  hard-working  and  hard-worked,  doing  all  the 
labor  of  the  camp".  .  .  .  They  live  apart  from  the  men 
but  are  in  no  way  shut  up  or  put  under  restraint.     In  the 


270  /iR^BU,   THE  CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

morning  they  all  go  out  to  gather  wood  for  the  day,  and 
whenever  we  have  met  them  so  employed  they  have  seemed 
in  the  highest  possible  spirits.  ...  In  mental  qualities 
the  women  of  the  desert  are  far  below  the  inen,  their  range 
of  ideas  being  extremely  limited.  Some  few  of  them,  how- 
ever, get  real  influence  over  their  husbands  and  even,  through 
them,  over  their  tribes.  In  more  than  one  Sheikh's  tent  it 
is  in  the  woman's  half  of  it  that  the  politics  of  the  tribe  are 
settled." 

Snouck  Hurgronje,  the  Dutch  traveller  who  spent  an  en- 
tire year  (1884-85)  in  Mecca  thus  characterizes  the  position 
of  women  in  Arabian  towns  :  ^ 

"What  avail  to  the  young  maiden  the  songs  of  eulogy  which 
once  in  her  life  resound  for  her  from  the  mouth  of  the  sing- 
ing-woman, but  which  introduce  her  into  a  companionship  by 
which  she,  with  her  whole  sex,  is  despised  ?  Moslem  literature, 
it  is  true,  exhibits  isolated  glimpses  of  a  worthier  estimation  of 
woman,  but  the  later  view,  which  comes  more  and  more  into 
prevalence,  is  the  only  one  which  finds  its  expression  in  the 
sacred  traditions,  which  represent  hell  as  full  of  women,  and 
refuse  to  acknowledge  in  the  woman,  apart  from  rare  excep- 
tions, either  reason  or  religion,  in  poems,  which  refer  all  the 
evil  in  the  world  to  the  woman  as  its  root ;  in  proverbs,  which 
represent  a  careful  education  of  girls  as  mere  wastefulness. 
Ultimately,  therefore,  there  is  only  conceded  to  the  woman  the 
fascinating  charm  with  which  Allah  has  endowed  her,  in  order 
to  afford  the  man,  now  and  then  in  his  earthly  existence,  the 
prelibation  of  the  pleasures  of  Paradise,  and  to  bear  him  chil- 
dren." 

The  poems  which  revile  womankind,  and  of  which  the 
Dutch  traveller  speaks,  are  legion.  Here  are  two  examples  in 
English  translation  from  Burton  : 

'Translation  from  Mekka,  Vol.  II.,  p.  187. 


THE  ARAB  271 

"  They  said,  marry  ! — I  replied, — 
Far  be  it  from  me 

To  take  to  my  bosom  a  sackful  of  snakes, 
I  am  free  why  then  become  a  slave  ? 
May  Allah  never  bless  womankind." 

"  They  declare  woman  to  be  heaven  to  man  ; 
I  say,  Allah,  give  me  Jehannum,  not  this  heaven." 

Three  kinds  of  dwellings  are  found  in  Arabia.  There  is  the 
tent,  the  date-palm  hut,  and  the  house  built  with  mortar  of 
stone  or  mud-brick.  The  tent  is  distinctive,  in  a  general  sense, 
of  the  interior  and  of  Northern  Arabia ;  the  palm-hut  of  the 
coast  and  of  South  Arabia ;  while  houses  of  brick  and  mortar 
exist  in  all  the  towns  and  cities.  The  evolution  of  the  house 
is  from  goats' -hair  to  matting,  and  from  matting  to  mud-roof. 
Each  of  these  dwellings  is  called  beif,  "  the  place  where  one 
spends  the  night." 

The  Bedouin  tentV  consists  of  nine  poles,  arranged  in  sets 
of  three  and  a  wide,  black  goats' -hair  covering  so  as  to  form 
two  parts  ;  the  men's  apartment  being  to  the  left  of  the  en- 
trance and  the  women's  to  the  right,  separated  by  a  white 
woollen  carpet  hanging  from  the  ridge-pole.  The  posts  are 
about  five  to  seven  feet  in  height ;  the  length  of  the  tent  is  be- 
tween twenty  and  thirty  feet,  its  depth  at  the  most  is  ten  feet. 
The  only  furniture  consists  of  cooking  utensils,  pack-saddles, 
carpets,  water-skins,  wheat-bags  and  millstones. 

The  date-palm  hut  is  of  different  shapes.  In  Hejaz  and 
Yemen  it  is  built  like  a  huge  beehive,  circular  and  with  a 
pointed  roof.  In  Eastern  Arabia  it  consists  of  a  square  en- 
closure with  hip-roof  generally  steep  and  covered  with  matting 
or  thatch-work.  At  Bahrein  the  Arabs  are  very  skillful  in  so 
weaving  the  date-fronds  together  and  tightening  every  crevice 
that  the  huts  keep  out  wind  and  rain-storms  most  successfully. 
The  average  size  date-hut  can  be  built  for  twenty  or  thirty 
Rupees  (seven  to  ten  dollars)  and  will  last  for  several  years. 
'  See  Burckhardt's  book  for  further  particulars. 


272  ARABIA,   THE  CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

The  stone-dwellings  of  Arabia  are  as  different  in  architecture 
and  material  as  circumstance  and  taste  can  make  them.  In 
Yemen  large  castle-like  dwellings  crown  every  mountain  and 
frown  on  every  valley ;  stone  is  plentiful  and  the  plan  of  archi- 
tecture inherits  grace  and  strength  from  the  older  civilization 
of  the  Himyarites.  In  Bagdad,  Busrah  and  East  Arabia  Per- 
sian architecture  prevails,  with  arches,  wind-towers,  tracery 
and  the  veranda-windows.  While  the  architecture  of  Mecca 
and  Medina  takes  on  its  own  peculiar  type  from  the  needs  of 
the  pilgrimage.  Generally  speaking  the  Arabs  build  their 
houses  without  windows  to  the  street,  and  with  an  open  court ; 
the  harem-system  dictates  to  the  builder,  even  putting  a  high 
parapet  on  the  flat-roof  against  jealous  eyes.  Bleak  walls  with- 
out ornament  or  pictures  are  also  demanded  by  their  surly  re- 
ligion. All  furniture  is  simple  and  commonplace ;  except 
where  the  touch  of  western  civilization  has  awakened  a  taste 
for  mirrors,  marble-top  tables  and  music-boxes. 

In  dress  there  is  also  much  variety  in  Arabia.  Turkish  in- 
fluence is  seen  in  the  Ottoman  provinces  and  Indian-Persian  in 
Oman,  Hassa  and  Bahrein.  The  Turkish  fez  and  the  turban 
(which  are  not  Arabian)  are  examples.  The  common  dress  of 
the  Bedouin  is  the  type  that  underlies  all  varieties.  It  consists 
of  a  coarse  cotton  shirt  over  which  is  worn  the  abba  or  wide 
square  mantle.  The  headdress  is  made  with  a  square  cloth, 
folded  across  and  fastened  on  the  crown  of  the  head  by  a 
circlet  of  woollen-rope  called  an  'akal.  The  color  of  the  gar- 
ment and  its  ornamentation  depends  on  the  locality ;  likewise 
the  belt  and  the  weapons  of  the  wearer.  Sandals  of  all  shapes 
are  used ;  shoes  and  boots  on  the  coast  indicate  foreign  influ- 
ence. The  dress  of  the  Bedouin  woman  is  a  wide  cotton  gown, 
with  open  sides,  generally  of  a  dark  blue  color,  and  a  cloth  for 
the  head.  The  veil  is  of  various  shapes ;  in  Oman  it  has  the 
typical  Egyptian  nose-piece  with  only  the  middle  part  of  the 
face  concealed ;  in  the  Turkish  provinces  of  East  Arabia,  thin 
black  cloth  conceals  all  the  features.     Nose  and  earrings  are 


THE  ARAB  273 

Common.  All  Arab  women  also  tattoo  their  hands  and  faces 
as  well  as  other  parts  of  their  bodies,  dye  with  henna  and  use 
antimony  on  their  eyelashes  for  ornament. 

The  staple  foods  of  Arabia  are  bread,  rice,  ghee  (or  clarified 
butter,  which  the  Arabs  call  semu)  milk,  mutton  and  dates. 
These  are  found  everywhere  and  coffee  is  the  universal  bever- 
age. Other  foods  and  fruits  we  have  considered  in  our  study 
of  the  provinces.  Tea  is  now  widely  used  but  was  known 
scarcely  anywhere  less  than  twenty  years  ago.  Tobacco  is 
smoked  in  every  village  and  the  Bedouins  also  are  passionately 
fond  of  the  weed ;  even  the  Wahabi  religious  prohibition  did 
not  drive  out  desire  for  the  universal  narcotic.  There  is  one 
article  of  food  we  have  left  unmentioned,  locusts.  These  are 
quite  a  staple  in  the  grocers'  shops  of  all  the  interior  towns  of 
Arabia.  They  are  prepared  for  eating  by  boiling  in  salt  and 
water,  after  which  they  are  dried  in  the  sun.  They  taste  like 
stale  shrimps  or  dried  herring.  The  coast-dwellers  still  live 
largely  on  fish  and  in  the  days  of  Ptolemy  they  were  called 
Ichthiophagoi. 


XXVII 

ARABIAN   ARTS    AND    SCIENCES 

T7VEN  Islam  could  not  suppress  the  Arab's  love  for  music 
■^^  nor  diminish  his  regard  for  the  great  poets  of  "  the  days 
of  ignorance."  For  be  it  known  that,  although  one  can  buy 
Austrian  mouth-organs  in  the  bazaar  at  Jiddah,  and  harmonicas 
from  Germany  in  the  toy-shop  at  Hof  hoof,  music  is  generally 
held  by  Moslems,  even  to-day,  to  be  contrary  to  the  teaching 
of  the  prophet.  Mafia  relates  that  when  he  was  walking  with 
Ibn  Omar,  and  they  heard  the  music  of  a  pipe  the  latter  put 
his  fingers  into  his  ears  and  went  another  road.  Asked  why, 
he  said  :  "I  was  with  the  prophet,  and  when  he  heard  the 
noise  of  a  musical  pipe,  he  put  his  fingers  into  his  ears ;  and 
this  happened  when  I  was  a  child."  Thus  it  comes  to  pass 
that  by  the  iron  law  of  tradition,  more  binding  to  the  pious 
Moslem  ofttimes  than  the  Koran  itself,  the  Mohammedan  world 
considers  music  at  least  among  the  doubtful  amusements  for 
true  believers.  And  yet  both  before  and  after  the  advent  of 
the  morose  legislator,  Arabia  has  had  its  music  and  song.  But 
music  in  Mohammedan  lands  is  ever  in  spite  of  their  religion, 
and  is  never,  as  is  the  case  with  Christianity,  fostered  by  it. 

Among  the  ancient  Arabs  poetry  and  song  were  closely  re- 
lated. The  poet  recited  or  chanted  his  own  compositions  in 
the  evening  mejlis,  or  more  frequently  at  the  public  fairs  and 
festivals,  especially  the  national  one  held  annually  at  Okatz, 
Here  it  was  that  the  seven  noble  fragments  still  extant  of  their 
earliest  literature  were  first  read  and  applauded,  and  accounted 
worthy  (if  this  part  of  the  story  be  not  fabulous)  to  be  sus- 
pended, written  in  gold,  in  the  Kaaba. 

It  is  unfortunate  that  the  Arabs,  with  all  their  wealth  of  lan- 

274 


ARABIAN  ARTS  AND  SCIENCES  275 

guage  and  literature,  have  no  musical  notation,  so  that  we  can 
only  surmise  what  their  ancient  tunes  may  have  been.  Were 
the  early  war  songs  of  Omar  and  Khalid  sung  in  the  same  key 
as  this  modern  war  chant  of  the  Gomussa  tribe,  as  interpreted 
by  Lady  Ann  Blunt  ? 


And  did  Sinbad  the  sailor  sing  the  same  tune  on  his  voyages 
down  the  Persian  Gulf  to  India  which  now  the  Lingah  boat- 
men lustily  chant  as  they  land  the  cargo  from  a  British  India 
steamer  ?     Or  was  it  like  this  sailors'  song  on  the  Red  Sea  ? 


To  both  of  these  questions  the  only  answer  is  the  unchange- 
ableness  of  the  Orient ;  and  this  puts  the  probability,  at  least, 
so  far  that  the  sailors  of  to-day  could  easily  join  in  Sinbad's 
chorus. 

The  people  of  Jauf,  in  Northern  Arabia,  are  most  famous 
for  music  at  the  present  day,  according  to  Burckhardt.  They 
are  especially  adept  at  playing  the  Rebaha.  This  may  well  be 
considered  the  national  instrument  of  music.  It  is  all  but 
universal  in  every  part  of  the  peninsula,  and  as  well-known  to 
all  Arabs  as  the  bag  pipe  is  to  the  Scotch.  I  have  heard  the 
highland  shepherd  boys  of  Yemen  play  on  a  set  of  reed-pipes 
rudely  fastened  together  with  bits  of  leather  thong.  The  drum 
tabl,  is  common  among  the  town  Arabs,  and  is  used  at  their 
marriage  and  circumcision  feasts  ;  but  all  over  the  desert  one 
only  hears  the  rebaba.  It  is  simplicity  itself  in  its  construc- 
tion, when  made  by  the  Bedouins  ;  the  finer  ornamental  ones 
are  from  the  cities.     A  box  frame  is  made  ready,  a  stick  is 


276  ARABIA,   THE   CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

thrust  through,  and  in  this  they  pierce  an  eye-hole  for  a  single 
peg ;  a  kidskin  is  then  stretched  upon  the  hollow  box ;  the 
string  is  plucked  from  a  mare's  tail,  and  setting  under  it  a  bent 
twig  for  the  bridge,  their  music  is  ready. 

Time  and  measure  are  often  very  peculiar  and  hard  to  catch, 
but  they  are  kept  most  accurately,  and  Ali  Bey  gives  an  ex- 
ample which  he  says,  "exhibits  the  singularity  of  a  bar  di- 
vided into  five  equal  portions,  a  thing  which  J.  J.  Rousseau 
conceived  to  be  practicable,  but  was  never  able  to  accomplish." 
Here  it  is  as  he  gives  it ;  it  strikingly  resembles  the  boatmen's 
song  at  Bahrein  : 


^^^^^ 


,li_^-H'^_ft-j.-j^ 


The  singing  one  commonly  hears,  however,  is  much  more 
monotonous  than  this,  and  the  tune  nearly  always  depends  on 
the  whim  of  the  performer  or  singer,  sometimes,  alas,  on  his 
inability  to  give  more  than  a  certain  number  of  variations  ! 

Antar,  one  of  their  own  poets,  has  said  that  the  song  of  the 
Arabs  is  like  the  hum  of  flies.  A  not  inapt  comparison  to 
those  who  have  seen  the  "  fly  bazaar  "  in  Hodeidah  or  Mena- 
mah  during  the  date  season,  and  heard  their  myriad-mouthed 
buzzing.  Antar,  however,  lived  in  the  "times  of  ignorance," 
and  most  probably  referred  to  the  chanting  of  the  camel 
drivers,  which  is  bad  enough.  Imagine  the  following  sung  in 
a  high  monotonous  key  with  endless  repetition : 

"  Ya  Rub  sallimhum  min  el  tahdeed 
\Va  ija'ad  kawaihum  'amd  hadeed." 

That  is  to  say,  being  freely  interpreted  : 

"  Oh  Lord,  keep  them  from  all  dangers  that  pass 
And  make  their  long  legs  pillars  of  brass. 


/IRABIAN  ARTS  AND  SCIENCES  277 

To  a  stranger  that  which  seems  most  peculiar  in  Arab  song 
is  their  long  drawn-out  tones  at  the  close  of  a  bar  or  refrain, 
sometimes  equivalent  to  three  whole  notes  or  any  number  of 
beats.  Doughty  did  not  appreciate  it,  apparently,  for  he 
writes:  "Some,  to  make  the  stranger  cheer,  chanted  to  the 
hoarse  chord  of  the  Arab  viol,  making  to  themselves  music 
like  David,  and  drawing  out  the  voice  in  the  nose  to  a  de- 
mensurate  length,  which  must  move  our  yawning  or  laughter." 
There  are,  however,  singers  and  singers.  I  remember  a  ruddy 
Yemen  lad  who  sang  us  kasidahs  during  a  heavy  rain-storm 
in  an  old  Arab  cafe  near  Ibb.  The  singer  was  master  of  his 
well-worn  rebaba,  and  its  music  seemed  to  overmaster  him. 
Now  his  hand  touched  the  strings  gently,  and  then  again  swept 
o\er  them  with  a  strong  nervous  motion,  awakening  music 
indeed.  His  voice,  too,  was  clear  and  sweet,  although  I  was 
not  enough  versed  in  Arabic  poetry  to  catch  the  full  meaning 
of  his  words.  It  may  have  been  the  surroundings  or  the 
jovial  companionship  of  friendly  Arabs  after  my  Taiz  seclusion 
and  a  weary  journey  up  the  mountain  passes,  but  I  have  never 
heard  sweeter  music  in  Arabia,  and  have  often  heard  worse 
elsewhere.     God  bless  that  travelling  troubadour  of  Yemen  ! 

Here  is  a  Mecca  song  for  female  voices,  as  given  by  Ali 
Bey  in  his  travels  (1815),  and  a  second  sung  by  the  women  of 
Hejaz  in  a  more  monotonous  strain  : 


-^-*— ^J  ■        '^ ':i '^- 


Such  songs  are  called  asamer ;  love-songs  are  called 
hodjeiny,  and  the  war  song  is  known  as  hadou.  Arabic  pros- 
ody and  the  science  of  metres  is  exceedingly  extensive  and 
seemingly  difficult.  AVhat  we  call  rhyme  is  scarcely  known, 
and  yet  every  verse  ends  with  the  same  syllable  in  a  stanza  of 
poetry. 


278 


ARABU,   THE   CRADLE   Oh  ISLAM 


In  Mecca  as  well  as  in  other  "religious,"  centres  there  is  a 
sort  of  sacred-music  of  which  Hurgronje  gives  several  speci- 
mens. They  are  chants  in  honor  of  the  prophet  or  prayers  for 
him  which  are  sung  at  the  Moleeds  or  festivals  in  memory  of 
Mohammed.     Here  are  two  of  them  : 


mar-  ha-ba     ya    mar-  ha- ba  -    ya,  mar  -  ba- ba  -    a-a-a-a. 

Most  generally,  however,  music  is  looked  upon  as  decidedly 
secular,  especially  all  instrumental  music.  The  desert  Arabs 
know  no  religious  song  and  only  sing  of  love  and  war  in  their 
old  wild  way.  It  is  only  at  a  distance  from  the  mosque  and 
away  with  the  caravan,  that  Ghanim  clears  his  throat  and  sings 
in  a  voice  that  can  be  heard  for  a  mile  as  we  leave  him  behind  : 


The  Arabs  of  the  desert  have  a  reading-book  all  their  own 
called  Athar ;  and  a  writing  all  their  own  called  wasm.  No 
Bedouin  so  ignorant  but  he  can  read  Athar  and  none  so  dull 
but  he  can  write  his  wasm. 


/IRABIAN  ARTS  AND  SCIENCES  279 

Af/ir  or  i7m  el  atliar  is  the  science  of  footsteps ;  and  like 
the  free  Indians  of  America,  the  Arab  is  keen  to  study  and 
quick  to  judge  from  sand  tracks  of  both  men  and  animals. 
The  genuine  Arab  who  has  made  athar  a  study  can  tell  the 


XRIBA 

L  MARKS   or 

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ARABS. 

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bill: 

(Christian   Bedouins)       | 

track  of  a  friend  from  that  of  a  foe,  and  can  distinguish  the 
tribe  or  even  the  clan ;  he  knows  from  the  depth  of  the  foot- 
print whether  the  camel  was  loaded  or  lame  ;  whether  the  man 
passed  yesterday  or  a  week  before ;  from  the  regularity  or  irreg- 


280  ARABIA,    THE   CRADLE   OF  ISLAM 

ularity  he  judges  of  fatigue  or  of  pursuit.  If  the  camel's  fore- 
feet dig  deeper  than  the  hind  he  concludes  the  animal  had  a 
weak  breast ;  from  the  offal  he  knows  whence  the  camels  came 
and  the  character  of  their  pasture.  Burckhardt  writes  of  in- 
stances where  camels  were  traced  six  days'  journeys  after  being 
stolen,  and  identified. 

To  identify  property  it  must  be  marked,  therefore,  the  kin- 
dred science  of  wasm  has  its  place.  A  wasm  is  a  Bedouin 
trade-mark  or  ideograph  to  label  his  property,  real  and  personal. 
Their  origin  is  unknown,  although  Doughty  says  that  they 
ofttimes  resemble  Himyaritic  letters  and  may  therefore  come 
from  Yemen.  Each  family  or  tribe  has  its  own  cattle-brand  or 
token.  Not  only  is  personal  property  such  as  cattle  marked 
with  the  2vasi?i  but  the  Bedouin  put  their  mark  on  rocks  near 
favorite  wells  or  pastures.  These  signs  are  the  only  certain 
records  of  former  occupation  of  tribes.  Many  of  the  tribes 
have  two  or  three  different  7£'c7sms ;  these  belong  to  family 
groups. 

The  medical  knowledge  and  medical  treatment  of  the  Arabs 
deserve  some  notice.  The  Arabs  think  themselves  always  ailing 
and  never  fail  to  consult  a  hakim  or  doctor  when  there  is  oppor- 
tunity. The  hakeem  is  supposed  to  know  both  their  malady 
and  its  cure  by  simple  observation  ;  to  tell  the  physician  for 
what  cause  they  seek  him  would  be  an  insult  to  his  wisdom  and 
for  him  to  ask  them  settles  the  matter  that  he  is  not  a  true 
hakeem.  The  common  diseases  of  Arabia  are  the  following, 
according  to  Arab  nomenclature,  El  Kibd,  i.  e.,  the  liver,  or 
all  visceral  infirmities;  er  rihh,  literally,  "the  wind,"  or 
rheumatics  and  neuralgia;  humma,  fevers  ;  /a!^5/ or  ague-cake ; 
el-hasa  or  stone;  ophthalmia;  "fascination"  or  hysterics,  (as 
when  they  say  a  man  has  a  jinn  or  a  child  has  been  looked  at 
by  the  evil-eye)  ;  leprosy,  phthisis,  dropsy,  stranguria,  ulcers 
and  senile  itch.  For  any  and  all  of  these  ailments,  beside 
others  not  so  common,  yet  sometimes  epidemic  like  smallpox 
and   cholera,    the  Arabs  seek   a  hakeem.     All  medicine,    save 


/iRABIAN  ARTS  AND  SCIENCES  281 

amulets,  charms  and  exorcisms,  is  called  daiua.  Their  pharma- 
copia  is  not  large  but  quite  remarkable;  in  addition  to  such 
simple  herbs  of  the  desert  as  their  hareem  collect  and  dry  they 
use  in  grave  emergencies  that  which  is  haram  (forbidden)  and 
unclean.  Patients  have  come  to  me  for  a  small  piece  of  swine's 
flesh  (which  they  suppose  all  Christians  eat)  to  cure  one  in 
desperate  straits.  Doughty  tells  how  among  the  Bedouins  they 
give  the  sick  to  eat  of  the  carrion-eagle  and  even  seethe  asses' 
dung  for  a  potion. 

Kei  or  actual  cautery  is  a  favorite  cure  for  all  sorts  of  dis- 
eases ;  so  also  is  khelal  or  perforating  the  skin  surface  with  a 
red-hot  iron  and  then  passing  a  thread  through  the  hole  to 
facilitate  suppuration.  Scarcely  one  Arab  in  a  hundred  who 
has  not  some  Xr/-marks  on  his  body  ;  even  infants  are  burned 
most  cruelly  in  this  way  to  relieve  diseases  of  childhood. 
Where  kei  fails  they  have  resource  to  words  written  on  paper 
either  from  the  Koran  or,  by  law  of  contraries,  words  of  evil, 
sinister  import.  These  the  patient  "takes"  either  by  swal- 
lowing them,  paper  and  all,  or  by  drinking  the  ink-water  in 
which  the  writing  is  washed  off.  Blood-letting  is  also  a  sov- 
ereign remedy  for  many  troubles.  The  Arab  barber  is  at  once 
a  phlebotomist,  cauterizer,  and  dentist.  His  implements — 
one  can  hardly  call  them  instruments — are  very  crude  and 
he  uses  them  with  some  skill  but  without  any  mercy.  Going 
to  the  proper  place  in  any  large  Arab  town  you  may  always  see 
a  row  of  men  squatting  down  with  bent  back  to  be  bled  \ 
cupping  and  scarifying  are  the  two  methods  most  in  vogue, 
although  some  are  quite  clever  in  opening  a  vein.  The  science 
of  medicine  in  the  towns  is  not  mucli  in  advance  of  that  of  the 
desert — more  book-talk  but  even  less  natural  intelligence.  A 
disease  to  be  at  all  respectable  must  be  connected  with  one  of 
the  four  temperaments  or  "  humors  of  Hippocrates." 

Medicines  are  hot  and  cold,  wet  and  dry;  and  the  same 
fourfold  classification  distinguishes  all  ailments.  There  are 
four  elements  only,  and  the  stars  must  be  favorable  to  induce 


282  ARABIA,   THE   CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

a  rapid  cure.  Whatever  is  prescribed  must  be  solid  and  ma- 
terial ;  if  it  is  bitter  and  painful  so  much  the  better.  Rough 
measures  act  more  strongly  on  the  imagination  and  faith-cure  is 
a  reality  in  such  cases.  Burton  gives  this  sample  of  a  correct 
prescription  : 

"  In  the  name  of  Allah,  the  compassionate,  the  merciful,  and 
blessings  and  peace  be  upon  our  Lord  the  apostle  and  his 
family  and  his  companions  one  and  all.  But  afterward  let 
him  take  bees-honey  and  cinnamon  and  album  gr^cum  of 
each  half  a  part  and  of  ginger  a  whole  part,  which  let  him 
pound  and  mix  with  the  honey  and  form  boluses,  each  bolus 
the  weight  of  a  Mithkal,  and  of  it  let  him  use  every  day  a 
Mithkal,  on  the  saliva,  (that  is  to  say,  fasting,  the  first  thing 
in  the  morning).  Verily  its  effects  are  \vonderful.  And  let 
him  abstain  from  flesh,  fish,  vegetables,  sweetmeats,  flatulent 
food,  acids  of  all  descriptions,  as  well  as  the  major  ablution  and 
live  in  perfect  quiet.  So  shall  he  be  cured  by  the  help  of  the 
King  the  healer,  /.  e.,  the  Almighty.     And  the  peace." 

Honey  has  always  been  a  panacea  in  Arabia  on  authority  of 
the  Koran  and  tradition.  The  only  reference  to  medicine  in 
the  revelation  of  Mohammed  is  this  ignorant  statement : 
"  From  the  bee's  belly  comes  forth  a  fluid  of  variant  hue 
which  yieldeth  medicine  to  man."  (Surah  xvi.  71.)  This  be- 
ing the  only  remedy  prescribed  by  Allah,  it  is  no  wonder  that 
tradition  affirms  its  efficacy  as  follows  :  "  A  man  once  came 
to  Mohammed  and  told  him  that  his  brother  was  afflicted  with 
a  violent  pain  in  his  belly;  upon  which  the  prophet  bade  him 
give  him  some  honey.  The  fellow  took  his  advice  but  soon 
came  again  and  said  that  the  medicine  had  done  no  good. 
Mohammed  answered  :  '  Go  and  give  him  more  honey,  for 
God  speaks  truth  and  thy  brother's  belly  lies,'  and  the  dose  be- 
ing repeated  the  man  was  cured."  ^     Coriander-seeds,  pepper- 

>  Signifying  "  Allah."  2  Baidhawi's  Commentary  iu  loco. 


ARABIAN  ARTS  AND  SCIENCES  283 

mint,  cinnamon,  senna,  iris-root,  saffron,  aloes,  nitrates,  ar- 
senious- earth,  pomegranate-rind,  date-syrup  and  vinegar — such 
are  some  of  the  common  household  remedies  of  Arabia.  All 
Arab  women  profess  a  knowledge  of  herbs  and  the  art  of  heal- 
ing so  that  the  "hakeem"  can  scarcely  make  a  living  if  he 
clings  solely  to  his  profession.  A  Mecca  "  M.  D.,"  says  Hur- 
gronje,  was  also  watch-maker,  gun-smith  and  distiller  of  per- 
fume ;  to  fill  up  his  idle  hours  he  did  a  little  silver-plating  and 
dealt  in  old  coins  !  Yet  this  man  was  at  the  head  of  the  pro- 
fession in  Mecca  and  was  able,  so  they  said,  to  transmute  the 
base  metals  and  write  very  powerful  charms. 

The  following  are  used  as  amulets  in  Arabia  :  a  small  Koran 
suspended  from  the  shoulder  ;  a  chapter  written  on  paper  and 
folded  in  a  leather  case  ;  some  names  of  God  or  their  numerical 
values  ;  the  names  of  the  prophet  and  his  companions  ;  green- 
stones without  inscriptions ;  beads,  old  coins,  teeth,  holy  earth 
in  small  bags.  Amulets  are  not  only  worn  by  the  Arabs  them- 
selves and  to  protect  their  children  from  the  evil-eye  but  are 
put  on  camels,  donkeys,  horses,  fishing-boats  and  sometimes 
over  the  doors  of  their  dwellings.  The  Arabs  are  very  super- 
stitious in  every  way.  In  Hejaz  if  a  child  is  very  ill  the  mother 
takes  seven  fiat  loaves  of  bread  and  puts  them  under  its  pillow  ; 
in  the  morning  the  loaves  are  given  to  the  dogs — and  the  child 
is  not  always  cured.  Rings  are  worn  against  the  influence  of 
evil-spirits ;  incense  or  even-smelling  compounds  are  burned  in 
the  sick-room  to  drive  away  the  devil ;  mystic  symbols  are 
written  on  the  walls  for  a  similar  purpose.  Love-philtres  are 
everywhere  used  and  in  demand  ;  and  nameless  absurdities  are 
committed  to  insure  successful  child-birth.  The  child-witch, 
called  Um-el  siibyati,  is  feared  by  all  mothers ;  narcotics  are 
used  freely  to  quiet  unruly  infants  and,  naturally,  mortality  is 
very  large.  Of  surgery  and  midwifery  the  Arabs  as  a  rule  are 
totally  ignorant  and  if  their  medical-treatment  is  purely  ridicu- 
lous their  surgery  is  piteously  cruel,  although  never  intentionally 
so.     In  all  eastern  Arabia  blind  women  are  preferred  as  mid- 


284  /iRABM,   THE   CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

wives,  and  rock-salt  is  used  by  them  against  puerpural  hem- 
morrhage.  Gunshot-wounds  are  treated  in  Bahrein  by  a  poultice 
of  dates,  onions  and  tamarind  ;  and  the  accident  is  guarded 
against  in  the  future  by  wearing  a  "lead-amulet." 

There  are  many  other  superstitions  in  no  way  connected  with 
the  treatment  of  the  sick.  Tree-worship  and  stone-worship  still 
exist  in  many  parts  of  Arabia  in  spite  of  the  so-called  ' '  pure 
monotheism  "  of  Islam.  Both  of  these  forms  of  worship  date 
back  to  the  time  of  idolatry  and  remain  as  they  were  partly  by 
the  sanction  of  Mohammed  himself,  for  did  he  not  make  a 
black-pebble  in  the  Kaaba,  the  centre  of  his  system  of  prayer  ? 
Sacred  trees  are  called  Manahil,  places  where  angels  or  jinn 
descend ;  no  leaf  of  such  trees  may  be  plucked  and  they  are 
honored  with  sacrifices  of  shreds  of  flesh,  while  they  look  gay 
with  bits  of  calico  and  beads  which  every  worshipper  hangs  on 
the  shrine.  Just  outside  of  the  Mecca  gate  at  Jiddah  stands 
one  of  these  rag-trees  with  its  crowd  of  pilgrims  ;  in  Yemen  they 
are  found  by  every  wayside.^ 

•  For  on  account  of  these  ancient  superstitions  and  idolatries  still  prac- 
ticed, see  W.  Robertson  Smith's  "  Religion  of  the  Semites  "  and  his  "  Kin- 
ship and  marriage  in  Early  Arabia."  The  mass  of  purely  Mohammedan 
superstition  can  be  studied  in  books  like  the  Arabian  Nights  and  Lane's 
"  Modern  Egyptians." 


XXVIII 

THE  STAR-WORSHIPPERS  OF  MESOPOTAMIA^ 

"  In  a  remote  period  of  antiquity  Sabeanism  was  diffused  over  Asia  by 
the  science  of  the  Chaldeans  and  the  arms  of  the  Assyrians.  They  adored 
the  seven  gods  or  angels  who  directed  the  course  of  the  seven  planets  and 
shed  their  irresistible  influence  on  the  earth.  .  .  .  They  prayed  thrice 
each  day,  and  the  temple  of  the  moon  at  Haran  was  the  term  of  their 
pilgrimage." — Gibbon. 

TN  the  towns  along  the  lower  Euphrates  and  Tigris,  especially 
"*■  at  Amara,  Suk  es  Shiukh,  Busrah  and  Mohammerah,  there 
dwell  an  interesting  people,  variously  known  as  Sabeans,  Nas- 
orians,  or  St.  John  Christians.  They  call  themselves  Mandae- 
ans,  and  althougli  numbering  four  or  five  thousand,  they  are 
and  have  always  been  entirely  distinct  from  the  Jews,  Moslems 
and  Christians  among  whom  they  have  dwelt  for  centuries. 
Their  origin  is  lost  in  obscurity  although  the  few  scholars  who 
have  studied  the  subject  trace  their  history  through  the  maze  of 
their  religion  to  ancient  Babylonia  and  Chaldea.  In  this  rem- 
nant of  a  race  and  religion  we  seem  to  have  an  example  of  the 
oldest  form  of  idolatry,  Star-worship,  and  many  of  their  mys- 
terious customs  may  throw  a  side-light  upon  the  cult  of  ancient 
Babylonia.  Mand^eism  is  not  only  of  deep  interest  as  "the 
only  existing  religion  compounded  of  Christian,  heathen  and 
Jewish  elements,^  but  it  affords  another  proof  of  the  early 
spread  of  religious  ideas  in  the  East,  and  the  Babylonian  origin 
of  much  that  is  supposed  to  be  Alexandrian  Gnosticism  in  a 
semi-Christian,  semi-pagan  garb. 

'  This  chapter  is  an  enlargement  of  a  paper  on  "  The  Star-Worshippers 
of  Mesopotamia "  read  before  the  Victoria  Institute,  Adelphi  Terrace, 
London,  1897. 

*  Kessler. 

285 


286  ARABIA,   THE   CRADLE   OF  ISLAM 

In  the  English  Bible  the  name  Sabeans  is  perplexing,  and 
although  used  of  three  different  tribes  or  peoples,  none  of  these 
are  any  way  related  to  the  present  Mandaeans  unless  those 
mentioned  in  Job.  Sabean  is  also  the  term  used  in  the  Koran, 
where  it  undoubtedly  applies  to  the  people  and  proves  that 
when  Islam  arose  their  numbers  and  settlements  were  far  from 
unimportant.  The  Koran  recognizes  them  as  distinct  from 
idolaters,  and  places  them  with  Jews  and  Christians  as  people 
of  the  book.^  From  this  it  is  evident  that  the  Sabeans  '■^  could 
not  have  been,  as  some  allege,  a  minor  Christian  sect  or  iden- 
tical with  the  Hemero-Baptists.  Although  giving  special 
honor  to  John  the  Baptist,  they  can  in  no  sense  be  called  Chris- 
tians. 

Isolated  by  a  creed,  cult  and  language  of  their  own,  the 
Sabeans  ^  love  their  isolation  and  do  not  intermarry  with  stran- 
gers nor  accept  a  proselyte  to  their  faith.  Nearly  all  of  them 
follow  one  of  three  trades.  They  raise  the  finest  dairy  produce 
of  Mesopotamia  ;  they  build  a  peculiar  kind  of  light  canoe, 
called  Mashhoof,  and  all  others  are  silver-smiths.  No  traveller 
should  visit  their  villages  without  carrying  away  specimens  of 

'  Surah  ii.  59 ;  v.  73  ;  xxii.  17. 

*  According  to  Gesenius,  Sabeans  should  be  Tsabiatis  from  tsabaoth,  the 
"  host  of  heaven."  Noldeke  and  others  say  it  comes  from  a  root  subba  to 
wash,  baptise,  and  refers  to  the  manner  of  their  worship.  Gibbon  is  per- 
haps correct  when,  on  the  authority  of  Pocock,  Hettinger,  and  D'Herbelot, 
he  states  the  origin  of  their  other  name  thus :  "  A  shght  infusion  of  the 
gospel  had  transformed  the  last  remnant  of  the  Chaldean  polytheists  into 
the  Christians  of  St.  John  at  Bussora." 

3  In  regard  to  their  name  Sabeatis,  Lane's  Arabic  dictionary  says  that 
it  comes  from  a  root  meaning  "  one  who  has  departed  from  one  religion  to 
another  religion."  Tlie  Arabs  used  to  call  the  prophet  as-Sabi,  because 
he  departed  from  the  religion  of  the  Koreish  to  El-Islam.  Nasoreans 
is  the  name  given  them  by  some  authors.  According  to  Petermann  they 
themselves  give  this  title  only  to  those  of  their  number  who  are  distin- 
guished for  character  or  knowledge.  It  doubtless  comes  from  Na^ojodcoc. 
the  early  half-Christian  sect  of  Syria. 


THE  STARIVORSHIPPERS  OF  MESOPOTAMIA  287 

their  beautiful  inlaid-work,  black  metal  on  silver  and  gold.  A 
peaceful  people  they  are,  industrious,  though  mostly  poor  and 
seldom  affording  trouble  to  their  Turkish  rulers.  Both  men 
and  women  have  a  remarkably  fine  physique ;  tall,  of  dark 
complexion,  good  features,  and  with  long  black  beards,  some 
of  the  men  are  typical  patriarchs,  even  as  we  imagine  Abraham 
who  left  their  present  country  for  Haran.  On  ordinary  days 
their  dress  does  not  distinguish  them  from  Moslems  or  Jews, 
but  on  feast  days  they  wear  only  white.  Their  women  go  about 
unveiled  ;  they  are  rather  taller  and  have  a  more  masculine  cast 
of  features  than  Moslem  women. 

Specimens  of  Mandaitic  Cursive-Script  with  transliteration 
and  translation. 


cj  <»r-'  dJXAjua  O    =  Assooda  havilak   =:    peace  be 

to  you. 


^a1 

O  cSo  tf^  ~^  <-n  ^     =  kethkum  skawee    =  how  much 
t^  ^  tSC  ^Jelt  o  cJrD    A/  *>  =  ana  libba  kabeelakr=  I  love  you 


a:S     ci^Oi^ 


much. 
=  kasbah  we  dahwah^  silver  and 
gold. 

/vV'^    cJ^o^^f^OX.^      =  hofshaba  rabba      ^  great   day 
*  (Sunday) 

/x^  o/va2*^  i;  ^^H  «  =  ^tran  hofshaba  =  Monday. 

,»  ,  c-y\  -^c.  o  =aklatha  =  Tuesday. 

^  A-i^-itlo  =arba-  ^Wednesday 

q/X«S-^A^  =hamsha  =  Thursday. 

^  A^  ^*V  =^^^'"^  ~  Friday. 

^<^^  Q^  =;shuvah  =  Saturday. 

The  two  great  things  that  distinguish  the  Sabeans  are  their 
language  and  their  religion.     Both  are  remarkable.     The  for- 


288  ARABIA,    THE   CRADLE   OF  ISLAM 

mer  because  of  its  long  preservation  among  a  dying  people,  and 
the  latter  as  the  most  remarkable  example  of  religious  syn- 
cretism. 

Naturally  the  bazaar-talk  of  all  the  river-country  is  Arabic ; 
all  Sabeans  speak  it  and  a  goodly  proportion  read  and  write  it ; 
but  beside  this  they  have  a  household  language  of  their  own, 
the  language  of  their  sacred  books,  which  is  called  Mandaitic. 
It  is  so  closely  related  to  Syriac  that  it  might  almost  be  called  a 
dialect,  yet  it  has  an  alphabet  and  grammar  of  its  own,  and 
their  writing  and  speech  is  not  fully  intelligible  to  the  Syriac- 
speaking  Christians  from  Mosul.  Wright  says  that  their  alpha- 
bet characters  most  resemble  the  Nabathean  and  their  language 
that  of  the  Babylonian  Talmud.^  One  peculiarity  is  the 
naming  of  the  letters  with  the  a  vowel  and  not  as  in  other 
Semitic  languages  by  special  names.  The  oldest  manuscripts 
of  the  Mandaitic  date  from  the  sixteenth  century,  and  are  in 
European  Libraries  (Paris  and  Oxford).  But  according  to 
Noldeke  the  golden  period  of  their  literature,  when  their  re- 
ligious books  received  their  final  and  present  form,  was  650- 
900  A.  D.  At  present  few  can  read  or  write  their  language, 
although  all  can  speak  it,  and  from  religious  motives  they  refuse 
to  teach  those  outside  of  their  faith  even  the  first  lesson,  except 
secretly. 

Although  meeting  Sabeans  for  years  and  being  their  guest  on 
frequent  journeys  up  and  down  the  rivers,  I  could  find  no  sat- 
isfactory answer  to  the  question  what  their  real  faith  and  cult 
were.  The  popular  story  that  they  turn  to  the  North  Star  when 
they  pray  and  "baptise"  every  Sunday  was  all  that  Moslems 
or  Christians  could  tell.  Books  of  travel  gave  fragmentary, 
conflicting  and  often  grossly  erroneous  statements.     According 

'  The  only  grammars  of  the  language  are  the  Sketch  of  a  Sabean  Gram- 
mar by  Captain  Prideaux  and  the  accurate  and  elaborate  Mandiiische 
Grammatik  of  the  indefatigable  scholar  Noldeke.  One  great  drawback 
of  the  latter  however  is  that  the  Hebrew  character  is  used  throughout  and 
not  the  Mandaitic. 


THE  STARIVORSHIPPERS  OF  MESOPOTAMIA  289 

to  some  accounts  they  were  idolaters,  others  classed  them  with 
Christians.  An  anonymous  article  in  the  London  Standard, 
Oct.  19,  1894,  entitled,  "A  prayer  meeting  of  the  Star-wor- 
shippers," curiously  gave  me  the  key  to  open  the  lock  of  their 
silence.  Whoever  wrote  it  must  have  been  perfectly  acquainted 
with  their  religious  ceremonies,  for  when  I  translated  it  to  a 
company  of  Sabeans  at  Amara  they  were  dumbfounded. 
Knowing  that  I  knew  something  made  it  easy  for  them  to  tell 
me  more.     The  article  referred  to  was  in  part  as  follows  : 

"  It  happens  to  be  the  festival  of  the  Star-worshippers  cele- 
brated on  the  last  day  of  the  year  and  known  as  the  Kanshio 
Zahlo,  or  day  of  renunciation.  This  is  the  eve  of  the  new 
year,  the  great  watch-night  of  the  sect,  when  the  annual  prayer- 
meeting  is  held  and  a  solemn  sacrifice  made  to  Avather  Ramo, 
the  Judge  of  the  tmder  world,  and  Ptahiel,  his  colleague  ;  and 
the  white-robed  figures  we  observe  down  by  the  riverside  are 
those  of  members  of  the  sect  making  the  needful  preparations 
for  the  prayer-meeting  and  its  attendant  ceremonies. 

"  First,  they  have  to  erect  their  Mishkna,  their  tabernacle  or 
outdoor  temple ;  for  the  sect  has,  strange  to  say,  no  permanent 
house  of  worship  or  meeting-place,  but  raise  one  previous  to 
their  festival  and  only  just  in  time  for  the  celebration.  And 
this  is  what  they  are  now  busy  doing  within  a  few  yards  of  the 
water,  as  we  ride  into  the  place.  The  elders,  in  charge  of  a 
shkando,  or  deacon,  who  directs  them,  are  gathering  bundles 
of  long  reeds  and  wattles,  which  they  weave  quickly  and  deftly 
into  a  sort  of  basket  work.  An  oblong  space  is  marked  out 
about  sixteen  feet  long  and  twelve  broad  by  stouter  reeds,  which 
are  driven  firmly  into  the  ground  close  together,  and  then  tied 
with  strong  cord.  To  these  the  squares  of  woven  reeds  and 
wattles  are  securely  attached,  forming  the  outer  containing 
walls  of  the  tabernacle.  The  side  walls  run  from  north  to 
south,  and  are  not  more  than  seven  feet  high.  Two  windows, 
or  rather  openings  for  windows,  are  left  east  and  west,  and 
space  for  a  door  is  made  on  the  southern  side,  so  that  the  priest 


290  ARABIA,    THE   CRADLE   OF  ISLAM 

when  entering  the  edifice  has  the  North  Star,  the  great  object 
of  their  adoration,  immediately  facing  him.  An  altar  of  beaten 
earth  is  raised  in  the  centre  of  the  reed-encircled  enclosure, 
and  the  interstices  of  the  walls  well  daubed  with  clay  and  soft 
earth,  which  speedily  hardens.  On  one  side  of  the  altar  is 
placed  a  little  furnace  of  dark  earthenware,  and  on  the  other  a 
little  handmill,  such  as  is  generally  used  in  the  East  for  grind- 
ing meal,  together  with  a  small  quantity  of  charcoal.  Close 
to  the  southern  wall,  a  circular  basin  is  now  excavated  in  the 
ground,  about  eight  feet  across,  and  from  the  river  a  short 
canal  or  channel  is  dug  leading  to  it.  Into  this  the  water  flows 
from  the  stream,  and  soon  fills  the  little  reservoir  to  the  brim. 
Two  tiny  cabins  or  huts,  made  also  of  reeds  and  wickervvork, 
each  just  large  enough  to  hold  a  single  person,  are  then  roughly 
put  together,  one  by  the  side  of  the  basin  of  water,  the  other 
at  the  further  extremity  of  the  southern  wall,  beyond  the  en- 
trance. The  second  of  these  cabins  or  huts  is  sacred  to  the 
Ganzivro  or  high  priest  of  the  Star-worshippers,  and  no  lay- 
man is  ever  allowed  to  even  so  much  as  touch  the  walls  with 
his  hands  after  it  is  built  and  placed  in  position.  The  door- 
way and  window  openings  of  the  edifice  are  now  hung  with 
white  curtains ;  and  long  before  midnight,  the  hour  at  which 
the  prayer-meeting  commences,  the  little  Mishk?ia,  or  taber- 
nacle open  to  the  sky,  is  finished  and  ready  for  the  solemnity. 
"  Toward  midnight  the  Star-worshippers,  men  and  women, 
come  slowly  down  to  the  Mishkna  by  the  riverside.  Each, 
as  he  or  she  arrives,  enters  the  tiny  wattled  hut  by  the  southern 
wall,  disrobes,  and  bathes  in  the  little  circular  reservoir,  the 
tarmido,  or  priest,  standing  by  and  pronouncing  over  each  the 
formula,  ^Eshmo  d'hai,  Eshmo  d'manda  haJ  madhkar  elakh^ 
('  The  name  of  the  living  one,  the  name  of  the  living  word, 
be  remembered  upon  thee ').  On  emerging  from  the  water, 
each  one  robes  him  or  herself  in  the  rasta,  the  ceremonial 
white  garments  peculiar  to  the  Star-worshippers,  consisting  of 
a  sadro,  a  long  white  shirt  reaching  to  the  ground ;  a  nassifo, 


THE  STARIVORSHIPPERS  OF  MESOPOTAMIA  291 

or  stole  round  the  neck  falling  to  the  knees ;  a  hintamo,  or 
girdle  of  woollen  material ;  a  gabooa,  square  headpiece,  reach- 
ing to  the  eyebrows ;  a  shalooal,  or  white  over-mantle ;  and 
a  kanzolo,  or  turban,  wound  round  the  gabooa  headpiece,  of 
which  one  end  is  left  hanging  down  over  the  shoulder.  Pe- 
culiar sanctity  attaches  to  the  rasta,  for  the  garments  com- 
posing it  are  those  in  which  every  Star-worshipper  is  buried, 
and  in  which  he  believes  he  will  appear  for  judgment  before 
Avather  in  the  nether  world  Materotho.  Each  one,  as  soon 
as  he  is  thus  attired,  crosses  to  the  open  space  in  front  of 
the  door  of  the  tabernacle,  and  seats  himself  upon  the  ground 
there,  saluting  those  present  with  the  customary  Sood  Havilakh, 
'Blessing  be  with  thee,'  and  receiving  in  return  the  usual 
reply,  Assootah  d' hal  havilakh,  *  Blessing  of  the  living  one 
be  with  thee.' 

"  The  numbers  increase  as  the  hour  of  the  ceremonial  comes 
nearer,  and  by  midnight  there  are  some  twenty  rows  of  these 
white-robed  figures,  men  and  women,  ranked  in  orderly  array 
facing  the  Alishkna,  and  awaiting  in  silent  expectation  the 
coming  of  the  priests.  A  couple  of  tarmidos,  lamp  in  hand, 
guard  the  entry  to  the  tabernacle,  and  keep  their  eyes  fixed 
upon  the  pointers  of  the  Great  Bear  in  the  sky  above.  As 
soon  as  these  attain  the  position  indicating  midnight,  the  priests 
give  a  signal  by  "waving  the  lamps  they  hold,  and  in  a  few  mo- 
ments the  clergy  of  the  sect  march  down  in  procession.  In 
front  are  four  of  the  shkandos,  young  deacons,  attired  in  the 
rasta,  with  the  addition  of  a  silk  cap,  or  tagha,  under  the 
turban,  to  indicate  their  rank.  Following  these  come  four 
tarmidos,  ordained  priests  who  have  undergone  the  baptism  of 
the  dead.  Each  wears  a  gold  ring  on  the  little  finger  of  the 
right  hand,  and  carries  a  tau-shaped  cross  of  olive  wood  to 
show  his  standing.  Behind  the  tarmidos  comes  the  spiritual 
head  of  the  .sect,  the  Ganzivro,  a  priest  elected  by  his  col- 
leagues who  has  made  complete  renunciation  of  the  world  and 
is  regarded  as  one  dead  and  in  the  realms  of  the  blessed.     He 


292  j4RABIA,   the   ChADLE   OE  ISLAM 

is  escorted  by  four  other  deaf  ens.  One  holds  aloft  the  large 
wooden  tau-cross,  known  as  derashvod  zivo,  that  symbolizes  his 
religious  office;  a  second  bears  the  sacred  scriptures  of  the 
Star-worshippers,  the  Sidra  Rirbba,  "the  great  Order,"  two- 
thirds  of  which  form  the  liturg  of  the  living  and  one-third  the 
ritual  of  the  dead.  The  third  r  the  deacons  carries  two  live 
pigeons  in  a  cage,  and  the  la  .  a  measure  of  barley  and  of 
sesame  seeds. 

"The  procession  marches  t  rough  the  ranks  of  the  seated 
worshippers,  who  bend  and  ki  the  garments  of  the  Ganzivro  as 
he  passes  near  them.  The  .armidos  guarding  the  entrance  to 
the  tabernacle  draw  back  the  hanging  over  the  doorway  and 
the  priests  file  in,  the  deacons  and  tarmidos  to  right  and  left, 
leaving  the  Ganzivro  standing  alone  in  the  centre,  in  front  of 
the  earthen  altar  facing  the  North  Star,  Polaris.  The  sacred 
book  Sidra  Rabba  is  laid  upon  the  altar  folded  back  where  the 
liturgy  of  the  living  is  divided  from  the  ritual  of  the  dead. 
The  high  priest  takes  one  of  the  live  pigeons  handed  to  him 
by  a  shkando,  extends  his  hands  toward  the  Polar  Star  upon 
which  he  fixes  his  eyes,  and  lets  the  bird  fly,  calling  aloud, 
'Bshmo  d'hal  rabba  mshabbah  zivo  kadmaya  Elaka  Edmen 
Nafshi  Eprah, '  '  In  the  name  of  the  living  one,  blessed  be 
the  primitive  light,  the  ancient  light,  the  Divinity  self-created.' 
The  words,  clearly  enunciated  within,  are  distinctly  heard  by 
the  worshippers  without,  and  with  one  accord  the  white-robed 
figures  rise  from  their  places  and  prostrate  themselves  upon  the 
ground  toward  the  North  Star,  on  which  they  have  silently 
been  gazing. 

"  Noiselessly  the  worshippers  resume  their  seated  position  on 
the  ground  outside.  Within  the  Mishkna,  or  tabernacle,  the 
Ganzivro  steps  on  one  side,  and  his  place  is  immediately  taken 
by  the  senior  priest,  a  tarmido,  who  opens  the  Sidra  Rabba 
before  him  on  the  altar  and  begins  to  read  the  Shomhofto, 
'  confession '  of  the  sect,  in  a  modulated  chant,  his  voice 
rising  and  falling  as  he  reads,  and  ever  and  anon  terminating 


THE  STAR-IVORSHIPPERS  OF  MESOPOTAMIA  293 

in  a  loud  and  swelling  Mshobho'lL^vi  eshmakhyo  Manda  d'hal, 
'Blessed  be  thy  name,  O  source' of  life,'  which  the  congre- 
gants without  take  up  and  repeat  with  bowed  heads,  their 
hands  covering  their  eyes. 

"  AVhile  the  reading  is  in  pre  Tcts  two  other  priests  turn,  and 
prepare  the  Peto  elayat,  or  hi,  '■  mystery,  as  they  term  their 
Communion.  One  kindles  a  darcoal  fire  in  the  earthenware 
stove  by  the  side  of  the  altar,  and  'he  other  grinds  small  some  of 
the  barley  brought  by  the  deacoril'  He  then  expresses  some  oil 
from  the  sesame  seed,  and,  mixi  '^  the  barley  meal  and  oil, 
prepares  a  mass  of  dough  which  H'e  kneads  and  separates  into 
small  cakes  the  size  of  a  two-shilling  piece.  These  are  quickly 
thrust  into  or  on  the  oven  and  baked,  the  chanting  of  the 
liturgy  of  the  Shomhotto  still  proceeding  with  its  steady  sing- 
song and  response,  Mshohbo  havi  eshmakhyo,  from  outside. 
The  fourth  of  the  tarmidos  now  takes  the  pigeon  left  in  the 
cage  from  the  shkando,  or  deacon,  standing  near  him,  and  cuts 
its  throat  quickly  with  a  very  sharp  knife,  taking  care  that  no 
blood  is  lost.  The  little  cakes  are  then  brought  to  him  by  his 
colleague,  and,  still  holding  the  dying  pigeon,  he  strains  its 
neck  over  them  in  such  a  way  that  four  drops  fall  on  each  one 
so  as  to  form  the  sacred  tan,  or  cross.  Amid  the  continued 
reading  of  the  liturgy,  the  cakes  are  carried  round  to  the  wor- 
shippers oufside  by  the  two  principal  priests  who  prepared 
them,  who  themselves  pop  them  direct  into  the  mouths  of  the 
members,  with  the  words  'Rshimot  bereshm  d^hai,^  'Marked 
be  thou  with  the  mark  of  the  living  one.'  The  four  deacons 
inside  the  Mishkna  walk  round  to  the  rear  of  the  altar  and 
dig  a  little  hole,  in  which  the  body  of  the  dead  pigeon  is  then 
buried. 

"  The  chanting  of  the  confession  is  now  closed  by  the  offici- 
ating tannido,  and  the  high  priest,  the  Ganzivro,  resuming  his 
former  place  in  front  of  the  Sacred  Book,  begins  the  recitation 
of  the  Massakhto,  or  '  renunciation  '  of  the  dead,  ever  direct- 
ing his  prayers  toward  the  North  Star,  on  which  the  gaze  of 


294  /iR/IBIA,   THE   CRADLE   OF  ISLAM 

the  worshippers  outside  continues  fixed  throughout  the  whole 
of  the  ceremonial  observances  and  prayers.  This  star  is  the 
Olma  d' nhoora,  literally  'the  world  of  light,'  the  primitive 
sun  of  the  Star-worshippers'  theogony,  the  paradise  of  the  elect, 
and  the  abode  of  the  pious  hereafter.  For  three  hours  the 
reading  of  the  '  renunciation '  by  the  high  priest  continues, 
interrupted  only,  ever  and  anon,  by  the  Mshobbo  havi  eshmakhyo, 
'Blessed  be  thy  name,'  of  the  participants  seated  outside, 
until,  toward  dawn,  a  loud  and  ringing  Ano  asborlakh  ano 
asborli  ya  Avather,  '  I  mind  me  of  thee,  mind  thou  of  me  O 
Avather,'  comes  from  the  mouth  of  the  priest,  and  signalizes 
the  termination  of  the  prayers. 

"  Before  the  North  Star  fades  in  the  pale  ashen  grey  of  ap- 
proaching dawn,  a  sheep,  penned  over  night  near  the  river,  is 
led  into  the  tabernacle  by  one  of  the  four  shkandos  for  sacri- 
fice to  Avather  and  his  companion  deity,  Ptahiel.  It  is  a 
wether,  for  the  Star-worshippers  never  kill  ewes,  or  eat  their 
flesh  when  killed.  The  animal  is  laid  upon  some  reeds,  its 
head  west  and  its  tail  east,  the  Ganzivro  behind  it  facing  the 
Star,  He  first  pours  water  over  his  hands,  then  over  his  feet, 
the  water  being  brought  to  him  by  a  deacon.  One  of  the  tar- 
midos  takes  up  a  position  at  his  elbow  and  places  his  hand  on 
the  Ganzivro' s  shoulder,  saying  A7ia  shaddakh,  'I  bear  wit- 
ness.' The  high  priest  bends  toward  the  North  Star,  draws  a 
sharp  knife  from  his  left  side,  and,  reciting  the  formula,  '  In 
the  name  of  Alaha,  Ptahiel  created  thee,  Hibel  Sivo  permitted 
thee,  and  it  is  I  who  slay  thee,'  cuts  the  sheep's  throat  from 
ear  to  ear,  and  allows  the  blood  to  escape  on  to  the  matted 
reeds  upon  which  the  animal  is  stretched  out.  The  four  dea- 
cons go  outside,  wash  their  hands  and  feet,  then  flay  the  sheep, 
and  cut  it  into  as  many  portions  as  there  are  communicants 
outside.  The  pieces  are  now  distributed  among  the  worship- 
pers, the  priests  leave  the  tabernacle  in  the  same  order  as  they 
came,  and  with  a  parting  benediction  from  the  Ganzivro,  As- 
sootad  d'hai  havilakh,  'The  benison  of  the  living  one  attend 


THE  STAR-IVORSHIPPERS  OF  MESOPOTAMIA  295 

thee,'  the  prayer-meeting  terminates,  and  the  Star-worshippers 
quietly  return  to  their  homes  before  the  crimson  sun  has  time 
to  peep  above  the  horizon." 

What  a  mosaic  of  ceremonies  and  what  a  mixed  cult  in  this 
river-bank  prayer-meeting  !  The  Sabeans  of  Amara  tell  me  that 
every  minute  particular  is  correctly  described,  and  yet  them- 
selves do  not  furnish  the  clew  to  the  maze.  Here  one  sees 
Judaism,  Islam  and  Christianity,  as  it  were  engrafted  on  one 
old  Chaldean  trunk.  Gnosticism,  star-worship,  baptisms,  love- 
feast,  sacrifice,  ornithomancy  and  what  not  in  one  confusion. 
The  pigeon  sacrifice  closely  corresponds  outwardly  to  that  of 
the  Mosaic  law  concerning  the  cleansing  of  a  leper  and  his 
belongings  and  is  perhaps  borrowed  from  that  source.'  But 
how  Anti- Jewish  is  the  partaking  of  blood  and  the  star-worship.^ 
The  cross  of  blood  seems  a  Christian  element,  as  does  also  the 
communion  of  bread,  but  from  a  New  Testament  standpoint 
this  is  in  discord  with  all  that  precedes. 

Nevertheless  a  complete  system  of  dogma  lies  behind  this 
curious  cult  and  one  can  never  understand  the  latter  without 
the  former.  Sabeanism  is  a  book  religion ;  and  it  has  such  a 
mass  of  sacred  literature  that  k\\  have  ever  had  the  patience  to 
examine  even  a  part  of  it.  The  Sidra  Rabba,  or  Great  Book, 
holds  the  first  place.  The  copy  I  examined  contains  over  five 
hundred  large  quarto  pages  of  text  divided  into  two  parts,  a 
"right  "  and  a  "left  hand  "  testament;  they  begin  at  differ- 
ent ends  of  the  book  and  they  are  bound  together  so  that  wlien 
one  reads  the  "rz^///,"  the  '■^ left'"  testament  is  upside-down. 
The  other  name  for  the  Great  Book  is  Ginza,  Treasure.  It  is 
from  this  treasure-house  that  we  chiefly  gather  the  elements  of 
their  cosmogony  and  mythology.^ 

1  Leviticus  xiv.  4-7,  49-53.  ^  Cf.  Job  xxxi.  26-28. 

3  The  first  printed  and  translated  edition  of  the  Sidra  Rabba  was  by 
Math.  Norberg  (Copenhagen,  181 5-16),  but  it  is  said  to  be  so  defective 
that  it  is  quite  useless  critically  ;  Petermann  reproduced  the  Paris  MSS.  in 
two  volumes    at  Leipsic,  1867.     Besides   the   Sidra    Rabba    there   are: 


296  ARABIA,    THE   CRADLE   OF  ISLAM 

First  of  all  things  was  Pera  Rabba  the  great  Abyss.  With 
him  "Shining  ether  "and  the  Spirit  of  Glory  {Alana  Rabba) 
form  a  primal  triad,  similar  to  the  Gnostic  and  ancient  Acca- 
dian  triads.  Kessler  goes  so  far  as  to  say  that  it  is  the  same. 
From  Mana  Raba  who  is  the  king  of  light,  emanates  Yardana 
Rabba,  the  great  Jordan.  (This  is  an  element  of  Gnosticism) 
Mana  Rabba  called  into  being  the  first  of  the  aeons,  Primal  Life, 
or  Hayye  kadema.  This  is  really  the  chief  deity  of  the  Sabeans, 
and  all  their  prayers  begin  by  invoking  him.  From  him  again 
proceed  secondary  emanations,  Yushamim  (J.  e.,  Jah  of  heaven) 
and  Manda  Hayye,  messenger  of  life.  This  latter  is  the  media- 
tor of  their  system,  and  from  him  all  those  that  accept  his  medi- 
ation are  called  Manddee.  Yushamim  was  punished  for  attempt- 
ing to  raise  himself  above  Primal  Light,  and  now  rules  the  world 
of  inferior  light.  Manda  still  "rests  in  the  bosom  of  Primal 
light "  {cf.  John  i.  i8),  and  had  a  series  of  incarnations  begin- 
ning with  Abel  (Hibil)  and  ending  with  John  the  Baptist  ! 
Besides  all  these  there  is  yet  a  third  life  called  ^ Ateeka,  wdio 
created  the  bodies  of  Adam  and  Eve,  but  could  not  give  them 
spirit  or  make  them  stand  upright.  If  the  Babylonian  trinity 
or  triad  has  its  counterpart  in  the  Mandaen  Pera,  Ayar  and 
Mana  Rabba,  then  Manda  Hayye  is  clearly  nothing  but  the 
old  Babylonian  Marduk  (Merodach),  firstborn,  mediator  and 
redeemer.  Hibil,  the  first  incarnation  of  Manda,  also  has  a 
contest  with  darkness  in  the  underworld  even  as  Marduk  with 
the  dragon  Tiamat. 

The  Sabean  underworld  has  its  score  of  rulers,  among  others 
these  rank  first  :  Zartay,  Zartanay,  Hag,  Mag,  Gaf,  Ga/an, 
Anatan  and  Kin,  with  hells  and  vestibules  in  plenteous  con- 

Sid7-a  (/'  YaJieya  or  Book  of  St.  John,  also  called  Drasche  d'Malek  (dis- 
course of  the  King) ;  The  Diwan  ;  The  Sidra  N^eshmata,  or  book  of  souls  ; 
and  last,  but  not  least,  the  books  of  the  zodiac  called  Asfar  Mahvashee. 
Except  for  the  small  portion  of  the  Sidra  Rabba  found  in  Brandt's  re- 
cently published  Maudaische  Schriften  (1895)  ^^^  of  the  above  still  await 
critical  study  and  editing. 


THE  STARIVORSHIPPERS  OF  MESOPOTAMIA  297 

fusion.  Hibil  descends  here,  and  from  the  fourth  vestibule 
carries  away  the  female  devil  RnJiaih^  daughter  of  Kin.  This 
Ruha,  Kessler  affirms,  is  really  an  anti-Christian  parody  of 
the  Holy  Spirit,  but  from  conversation  with  the  Sabeans 
I  cannot  believe  this  to  be  true.  By  her  own  son  Ur 
Ruha  becomes  the  mother  of  all  the  planets  and  signs  of  the 
zodiac.  These  are  the  source  and  controllers  of  all  evil  in  the 
world  and  must  therefore  be  propitiated.  But  the  sky  and 
fixed  stars  are  pure  and  clear,  the  abode  of  Light.  The 
central  sun  is  the  Polar  Star,  with  jewelled  crown  standing  be- 
fore the  door  of  Abathur,  or  "father  of  the  splendors." 
These  "  splendors,"  aeons,  or  primary  manifestations  of  deity, 
are  said  to  number  three  hundred  and  sixty,  (a  Semitic  way  of 
expressing  many),  with  names  borrowed  from  the  Parsee 
angelology  (Zoroastrianism).  The  Mandgeans  consider  all  the 
Old  Testament  saints  except  Abel  and  Seth  false  prophets 
(Gnosticism).'  True  religion  was  professed  by  the  ancient 
Egyptians,  who,  they  say,  were  their  ancestors.  Another  false 
prophet  was  Yishu  Mashiha  (Jesus  Christ),  who  was  in  fact 
an  incarnation  of  the  planet  Mercury.  John  the  Baptist, 
Yahya,  appeared  forty-two  years  before  Christ  and  was 
really  an  incarnation  of  Manda  as  was  Hibil.  He  bap- 
tized at  Jordan,  and,  by  mistake  also  administered  the  rite  to 
Jesus. 

About  200  A.  D.,  they  say,  there  came  into  the  world  60,000 
saints  from  Pharaoh's  host  and  took  the  place  of  the  Man- 
dseans  who  had  been  extirpated.  Is  not  this  a  possible  al- 
lusion to  the  spread  of  the  Gnostic  heresy  and  the  coalescence 
of  certain  Gnostics  with  the  then  Sabean  community  ?  They 
say  that  their  high  priest  then  had  his  residence  at  Damascus ; 

1  See  the  history  of  Gnostic  teaching,  especially  that  of  the  Ophites  and 
Sethians.  All  the  evil  characters  in  the  Old  Testament,  with  Cain  at 
their  head,  were  set  forth  as  spiritual  heroes.  Judas  Iscariot  was  repre- 
sented as  alone  knowing  the  truth.  I  find  no  large  account  of  the  serpent 
in  the  Sabean  system  ;  this  may  be  otherwise  accounted  for. 


298  ARAB  1/1,    THE   CRADLE   OF  ISLAM 

that  is,  their  centre  of  religion  was  between  Alexandria  and 
Antioch,  the  two  schools  of  Gnosticism. 

Mohammed,  according  to  their  system,  was  the  last  false 
prophet,  but  he  was  divinely  kept  from  harming  them,  and 
they  flourished  to  such  an  extent  that  at  the  time  of  the  Abba- 
sides  they  had  four  hundred  centres  of  worship  in  Babylonia. 

The  Mand^an  priesthood  has  three  grades;  tarmida  or 
ta'amida  ("disciple"  or  "baptism"),  shkanda  ("deacons"), 
and  the  Ganzivra  ("high  priest,"  literally  the  keeper  of  the 
Ginza  or  Great  Book).  The  late  Ganzivra  was  Sheikh  Yahya, 
a  man  of  parts  and  well-versed  in  their  literature,  who  long 
lived  at  Suk-es-Shiukh.  Their  present  high  priest  is  called 
Sheikh  Sahn  and  was  at  one  time  imprisoned  at  Busrah  on 
charge  of  fomenting  a  rebellion  of  the  Arab  tribes  near  Kurna 
at  the  junction  of  the  Tigris  and  Euphrates. 

The  Sabeans  observe  six  great  feasts  beside  their  weekly 
sabbath  (Sunday).  One  of  the  feasts  celebrates  the  victory  of 
Abel  in  the  world  of  darkness,  another  the  drowning  of 
Pharaoh's  army,  but  the  chief  feast,  Pantsha,  is  one  of  Bap- 
tism. It  is  observed  in  summer,  and  all  Sabeans  are  obliged 
to  be  baptized  by  sprinkling  three  times  a  day  for  five  days. 
The  regular  Sunday  baptisms  by  immersion  in  running  water 
are  largely  voluntary  and  meritorious :  these  latter  correspond 
to  the  Moslem  laws  of  purifications  and  take  place  after  touch- 
ing a  dead  body,  the  birth  of  a  child,  marriage,  etc. 

The  moral  code  of  the  Sabeans  is  that  of  the  Old  Testament 
in  nearly  every  particular.  Polygamy  is  allowed  to  the  extent 
of  five  wives,  and  is  even  recommended  in  the  Sidra  Rabba 
but  is  seldom  indulged  in.  They  do  not  circumcise ;  this  is 
important,  proving  that  they  are  not  of  Arab  origin.  They 
have  no  holy  places  or  churches  except  those  we  have  described 
which  are  built  for  a  single  night  on  the  riverside. 

The  story  that  they  go  on  pilgrimage  to  Haran  ^  and  visit 
the  Pyramids  as  the  tomb  of  Seth  ^  is  apparently  a  myth.  They 
•  Gibbon.  2  Sale's  Koran. 


THE  STAR-IVORSHIPPERS  OF  MESOPOTAMIA         299 

?.re  friendly  to  Christians  of  all  sects  and  love  to  give  the  im- 
pression that  because  they  honor  the  Baptist  they  are  more 
closely  related  to  us  than  are  the  Jews  and  Moslems.  Of 
course  they  deny  that  they  do  not  accept  Jesus  as  a  true 
Prophet,  as  they  do  all  those  other  articles  of  their  belief, 
which  they  deem  wisest  or  safest  to  keep  concealed. 

All  our  investigations  end  as  we  began,  by  finding  that  the 
Sabeans  "worship  that  which  they  know  not,"  and  profess  a 
creed  whose  origin  is  hidden  from  them  and  whose  elements, 
gathered  from  the  four  corners  of  the  earth,  are  as  diverse  as 
they  are  incongruous.  Who  is  able  to  classify  these  elements 
or  among  so  much  heterogeneous  debris  dig  down  to  the  origi- 
nal foundations  of  the  structure  ?  If  we  could,  would  we  not, 
as  in  so  many  other  cases,  come  back  to  Babylonia  and  the 
monuments  ? 


<Ajtfi   <(^4^    <^Hudo 


NJ^" 


XXIX 

EARLY   CHRISTIANITY    IN    ARABIA 
"And  some  fell  among  thorns." — Matthew  xiii.  7. 

"  But  while  men  slept,  his  enemy  came  and  sowed  tares  among  the 
wheat  and  went  his  way.  But  when  the  blade  was  sprung  up  and  brought 
forth  fruit  then  appeared  the  tares  also.  So  the  servants  of  the  house- 
holder came  and  said  unto  him,  Sir,  didst  not  thou  sow  good  seed  in  thy 
field  ?  from  whence  then  hath  it  tares  ?  He  said  unto  them,  An  enemy 
hath  done  this." — Matthew  xiii.  25-28. 

TT  is  recorded  in  the  Acts  of  the  apostles  that  Arabians, 
-*■  or  Arabian  proselytes,  were  present  at  the  Jewish  feast  of 
Pentecost.  We  must  therefore  go  back  to  Apostolic  times  to 
find  the  beginnings  of  Christianity  in  Arabia.  Whether  these 
Arabians  were  from  the  northern  part  of  the  peninsula  border- 
ing on  Syria,  from  the  dominions  of  the  Arabian  king  Hareth 
(Aretas),  or  came  as  Jewish  proselytes  from  distant  Jewish  col- 
onies of  Yemen,  must  ever  remain  uncertain.  In  any  case 
they  doubtless  carried  back  to  their  homes  something  of  the 
Pentecostal  message  or  blessing.  The  New  Testament  refer- 
ences to  Arabia  are  not  disconnected  and  unique,  but  stand  in 
closest  relation  to  the  whole  Old  Testament  revelation  of  God's 
dealings  with  Ishmael  and  his  descendants. 

In  Paul's  letter  to  the  Galatians,^  he  writes,  '*  Neither  went 
I  up  to  Jerusalem  to  them  which  were  apostles  before  me ;  but 
I  went  to  Arabia,  and  returned  again  unto  Damascus."  What 
did  the  great  apostle  to  the  Gentiles  do  in  Arabia  ?  A  con- 
sideration of  this  question  will  give  us  a  better  standpoint  to 
review  the  later  rise  of  Christianity  not  only  in  North  Arabia, 

'  Galatians  i.  17. 
300 


EARLY  CHRISTIANITY  IN  ARABIA  301 

but  in  Nejran  and  Yemen.  "A  veil  of  thick  darkness,"  says 
Lightfoot,  "hangs  over  St.  Paul's  visit  to  Arabia."  The  par- 
ticular part  of  Arabia  visited,  the  length  of  his  stay,  the  motive 
of  his  going,  the  route  taken  and  what  he  did  there, — all  is  left 
untold.  We  can  draw  the  map  and  tell  the  story  of  all  but  the 
first  great  journey  of  the  apostle.  Certainly  the  first  journey 
of  the  new  Saul  of  Tarsus  cannot  have  been  without  some  great 
purpose.  The  probable  length  of  his  stay,  which  is  by  some 
put  at  only  six  months,  but  which  may  have  been  two  years, ^ 
would  also  indicate  some  importance  in  the  event. 

Visions  and  revelations  to  this  Elijah  and  Moses  of  the  new 
dispensation  there  may  have  been  while  he  tarried  in  the  des- 
ert, but  it  is  scarcely  probable  to  suppose  that  at  this  critical 
juncture  in  early  church  history  so  long  a  time  should  have 
been  occupied  with  these  only.  Therefore,  we  find  the  earliest 
commentators  of  the  opinion  that  Paul's  visit  to  Arabia  was  his 
first  missionary  journey,  and  that  he  "conferred  not  with  flesh 
and  blood,"  but  went  into  Arabia  to  preach  the  gospel.^  "  See 
how  fervent  was  his  soul,"  says  Chrysostom,  "  he  was  eager  to 
occupy  lands  yet  untilled,  he  forthwith  attacked  a  barbarous 
and  savage  people,  choosing  a  life  of  conflict  and  much  toil." 
The  idea  that  Paul  went  to  preach  immediately  after  his  con- 
version is  natural ;  and  that  he  should,  as  the  Gentile  apostle, 
seek  first  that  race  which  was  also  a  son  of  Abraham  and  heir 
of  many  Old  Testament  promises  and  whose  representatives 
were  present  at  Pentecost,  is  not  improbable. 

But  if  Paul  went  to  Arabia  and  preached  the  gospel,  where 
and  to  whom  did  he  go  ?     A  certain  reply  to  these  questions  is 

'  Gal.  i.  i8  ;  Acts  ix.  9,  25. 

*  Many  others,  including  Hilary,  Jerome,  Theodoret  and  the  Occumen- 
ian  commentators  are  stated  by  Rawlinson  (St.  Paul  in  Damascus  and 
Arabia,  p.  128),  to  hold  the  same  opinion.  Porter,  not  alone  of  modern 
writers,  puts  forth  the  same  view  in  his  "  Five  Years  in  Damascus,"  and 
supposes  that  Paul's  success  was  great  enough  to  provoke  the  hostility  of 
Aretas  and  make  him  join  the  later  persecution. 


302  ARABIA,  THE  CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

unattainable  since  revelation  is  silent,  but  (i)  The  place  was 
most  probably  the  Sinaitic  peninsula,  or  the  region  east  of  Sinai 
(Rawiinson).  (2)  There  is  more  than  one  reason  to  hold 
with  Jerome  and  later  writers  that  he  went  to  a  tribe  where  his 
mission  was  unsuccessful  as  regards  visible  results.  (3)  The 
only  people  of  the  desert  then,  as  now,  were  Arab  Bedouin, 
and  of  the  probability  that  Paul  also  knew  their  life  and  cus- 
toms, Robertson  Smith  gives  a  curious  illustration  in  an  allusion 
to  Galations  vi.  17,  when  speaking  of  tattoo  marks  in  religion.^ 

Now  was  there  an  Arab  tribe  in  the  days  of  Paul,  in  the  re- 
gion southwest  of  Damascus,  to  whom  a  missionary  came  with 
a  new  and  strange  message  which  was  not  favorably  received, 
and  yet  whom  and  whose  message  those  Arabs  could  not  forget  ? 

We  find  a  curious  legend  taken  up  with  other  nomad  debris 
into  the  maelstrom  of  Mohammed's  mutterings  that  may  help 
to  answer  the  question.  It  is  about  the  Nebi  Salih  or  "good 
prophet,"  who  came  to  the  people  of  Thamud,^  and  whose 
person  and  mission  is  as  much  a  mystery  to  Moslem  commen- 
tators as  Paul's  visit  to  Arabia  is  to  us.  European  critics  sug- 
gest his  identity  with  Shelah  of  Genesis  xi.  13  !  but  etymology 
and  chronology  both  afford  the  most  meagre  basis.  Palmer  offers 
a  theory  that  Nebi  Salih  is  none  other  than  the  "righteous 
prophet"  Moses  ;^  but  the  difficulty  is  that  this  puts  the 
legend  too  far  back  in  history.  It  is  not  probable  that  the 
people  of  Thamud  "  hewed  out  mountains  into  houses,"  such 
as  are  found  to-day  as  early  as  in  the  days  of  Moses.  Nor  does 
Old  Testament  indicate  a  time  when  Moses  went  to  Arabs  Avith 
a  Divine  message.  Moreover,  the  legend  is  evidently  a  local 
one  that  came  to  the  knowledge  of  Mohammed,  or  it  would 
have  been  better  known  to  him  who  borrowed  so  largely  from 
the  former  prophets ;  and  if  it  is  a  local  legend,  it  is  not  a 
legend  of  Moses,  for  he  is  mentioned  more  than  seventy-seven 

'"  Kinship  and  Marriage  in  Early  Arabia,"  p.  214. 

2  Koran,  Surah  vii.  71. 

3  Desert  of  the  Exodus,  p.  50. 


E^RLY  CHRIST  UNITY  IN  ARAB  1/1  303 

times  in  the  Koran,  and  his  story  was  well  known  in  Arabia, 
at  least  as  far  as  Yemen. 

The  pith  of  the  legend  underlies  the  bark  ;  what  says  the 
Koran?  Nebi  Salih  came  as  a  "brother,"^  and  said,  "  O, 
my  people,  worship  God.  Ye  have  no  God  but  Him.'  There 
has  come  to  you  an  evident  sign  from  your  Lord.^  . 
And  remember  how  He  made  you  vice-regents  after  'Ad,  and 
stablished  you  in  the  earth  .  .  .  and  remember  the  bene- 
fits of  God.^  Said  the  chiefs  of  those  who  were  big  with  pride 
from  amongst  his  people  (Pharisees  or  Jews  from  Damascus  ?) 
to  those  who  believed  amongst  them  :  Do  ye  know  that  Salih 
is  sent  from  his  Lord?  (/.  <?.,  his  Lord  is  not  your  true  God). 
They  said,  We  do  believe  in  that  with  which  He  is  sent, 
(gospel?)  "Said  those  who  were  big  with  pride.  Verily,  in 
what  ye  do  believe  we  disbelieve."  The  passage  is  again 
significant :  "  And  he  turned  away  from  them  (back  to  Damas- 
cus ?)  and  said,  O,  my  people,  I  did  preach  unto  you  the  mes- 
sage of  my  Lord,^  and  I  gave  you  good  advice,  but  ye  love  not 
sincere  advisers."  Does  not  this  story  have  points  of  contact 
with  what  might  have  been  the  experiences  of  a  man  like  Paul 
among  such  a  people  ? 

The  fact  that  there  is  a  so-called  tomb  of  Nebi  Salih  at  El 
Watiyeh  (Palmer)  does  not  weigh  much  for  or  against  any 
theory  as  to  the  identity  of  the  prophet.  Arabia  has  tombs  of 
Job  on  the  Upper  Euphrates,  of  Eve  at  Jiddah,  of  Cain  at 
Aden,  and  of  other  "prophets"  where  there  is  a  demand  for 
it.  But  it  is  interesting  to  learn  from  the  learned  author  of 
The  Desert  of  the  Exodus  :  "The  origin  and  history  of  Nebi 
Salih  is  quite  unknown  to  the  present  Bedouin  inhabitants,  but 
they  nevertheless  regard  him  with  more  national  veneration 
than  even  Moses  himself."  If  revered  more  than  Moses, 
why  not  was  he  later  than  Moses — greater  than  Moses — even 
Sau/  of  Tarsus  ?     Whether  this  theory  be  only  far-fetched  or 

'  Acts  xvii.  26.  2  Acts  xvii.  29.  3  Acts  xvii.  31. 

*  Acts  xvii.  25.  5  Acts  xx.  20,  27. 


304  ARABIA,   THE  CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

whether  it  has  confirmation  in  the  early  spread  of  Christianity 
in  North  Arabia  the  sequel  may  show. 

Historical  Christianity  in  Arabia  had  two  centreSj  so  that  the 
study  of  its  early  rise  and  progress  takes  us  first  to  the  tribes 
furthest  north,  in  the  kingdoms  of  Hirah  and  Ghassan  and  then 
to  fertile  Yemen  and  Nejran. 

Despite  the  growth  of  the  Roman  Empire  eastward  in  the 
days  of  Pompey,  the  Arabs  of  Syria  and  Palmyra  retained  their 
independence  and  resisted  all  encroachment.  Under  Odenathus 
the  Palmyrene  kingdom  flourished,  and  reached  the  zenith  of 
its  power  under  his  wife  and  successor,  the  celebrated  Zenobia. 
She  was  defeated  by  Aurelian,  and  Palmyra  and  its  dependencies 
became  a  province  of  the  Roman  Empire.  It  is  natural  there- 
fore to  expect  that  Christianity  was  introduced  into  this  region 
at  an  early  period.  Such  was  the  case.  Agbarus,  so  cele- 
brated in  the  annals  of  the  early  church,  was  a  prince  of  the 
territory  of  Edessa  and  Christianity  had  made  some  progress  in 
the  desert  in  the  time  of  Arnobius.^  Bishops  of  Bostra,  in 
Northwest  Arabia  (not  to  be  confounded  with  Busrah),  are 
mentioned  as  having  been  present  at  the  Nicene  council  (325 
A.  D. )  with  five  other  Arabian  bishops.'^  The  Arabian  historians 
speak  of  the  tribe  of  Ghassan  as  attached  to  the  Christian  faith 
centuries  before  the  Hegira.  It  was  of  this  tribe  that  the 
proverb  became  current :  "  They  were  lords  in  the  days  of  ig- 
norance and  stars  of  Islam."  They  held  sway  over  the  desert 
east  of  Palestine  and  of  Southern  Syria.  The  name  of  Mavia 
or  Muaviah  is  mentioned  by  ecclesiastical  writers  as  an  Arab 
queen  who  was  converted  to  the  faith  and  in  consequence 
formed  an  alliance  with  the  emperor  and  accepted  a  Christian 
Bishop,  named  Moses,  ordained  by  the  primate  of  Alexandria. 
Her  conversion  took  place  about  a.  d.  372.  Thus  we  find 
that  the  progress  of  Christianity  increased  in  proportion  as  the 
Arabs  became  more  intimately  connected  with  the  Romans, 

'  Wright's  "  Early  Christianity  in  Arabia,"  1855. 
2  Buchanan's  Christian  Researches. 


EARLY  CHRISTIANITY  IN  ARABIA  305 

An  unfortunate  circumstance  for  the  progress  of  Christianity 
in  North  Arabia  was  its  location  between  the  rival  powers  of 
Rome  and  Persia.  It  was  a  sort  of  buffer-state  and  suffered 
from  both  sides.  The  Persian  monarchs  persecuted  the 
Christian  Arabs  and  one  of  their  Arab  allies,  a  pagan,  called 
Naaman,  forbade  all  intercourses  with  Christians,  on  the  part 
of  his  subjects.  This  edict  we  are  told  ^  was  occasioned  by 
the  success  of  the  example  and  preaching  of  Simeon  Stylites, 
the  pillar  saint,  celebrated  in  Tennyson's  picture-poem.  This 
desert-friar  who  was  himself  an  Arab  by  birth,  was  a  preacher 
after  the  heart  of  the  stern,  austere,  half-starved  Bedouin.  His 
fame  spread  even  into  far-off  Arabia  Felix. ^  The  stern  edict 
of  Naaman  was  withdrawn,  however,  and  he  himself  was  only 
prevented  from  embracing  the  faith  by  his  fear  of  the  Persian 
king. 

Among  the  first  monks  to  preach  to  the  nomad  tribes  was 
Euthymius  who  seems  to  have  been  a  medical  missionary  work- 
ing miracles  of  healing  among  the  ignorant  Bedouins.  One  of 
the  converted  Arabs,  Aspebetus,  took  the  name  of  Peter,  was 
"consecrated"  by  Juvenal,  patriarch  of  Jerusalem,  and  be- 
came the  first  bishop  of  the  tribes  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Southern  Palestine. 

The  progress  or  even  the  existence  of  Christianity  in  the 
kingdom  of  Hirah  seems  to  have  been  always  uncertain  as  it 
was  dependent  on  the  favor  of  the  Khosroes  of  Persia.  Some 
of  the  Arabs  at  Hirah  and  Kufa  were  Christian  as  early  as  380 
A.  D.  One  of  the  early  converts,  Noman  abu  Kamus,  proved 
the  sincerity  of  his  faith  by  melting  down  a  golden  statue  of 
the  Arabian  Venus,  worshipped  by  his  tribe,  and  by  distribut- 
ing the  proceeds  among  the  poor.  Many  of  the  tribe  followed 
his   example   and   were   baptized.'      To   understand   the  im- 

'  Wright,  p.  77. 

2  The  latest  version  of  his  life  is  by  Noldeke  in  his  "  Sketches  from 
Eastern  History."     (London,  1S92.) 

3  Wright,  p.  144. 


306  ARABIA,   THE  CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

portance  of  this  spread  of  Christianity  in  North  Arabia  we 
must  remember  that  this  was  the  age  of  caravans  and  not  of 
navigation.  Palmyra,  the  centre  of  the  trade  from  the  Persian 
Gulf,  owed  its  importance  and  power  to  the  trans-Arabian  traffic 
with  Persia  and  the  East.  Irak  and  Mesopotamia  were  then 
a  part  of  Arabia  and  were  ruled  by  Arabian  dynasties. 

It  was  in  Southwestern  Arabia,  however,  that  Christianity  ex- 
erted even  greater  power  and  made  still  larger  conquests.  We 
cannot  but  wish  that  the  story  of  its  success,  trials  and  extinction 
had  been  given  us  in  some  purer  form  with  more  of  the  gospel 
and  less  of  ecclesiasticism.  Had  that  early  Christianity  been 
gold  instead  of  glitter  it  would  not  have  perished  so  easily  in  the 
furnace  of  persecution  or  disappeared  so  utterly  before  the 
tornado-blast  of  Islam. 

The  picture  of  the  Christian  church  of  this  period  (323-692 
A.  D.)  as  drawn  by  faithful  historians  is  dark  indeed.  "More 
and  more  the  church  became  assimilated  and  conformed  to  the 
world,  church  discipline  grew  lax,  and  moral  decay  made  rapid 
progress.  Passionate  contentions,  quarrels  and  schisms  among 
bishops  and  clergy  filled  also  public  life  with  party-strife,  ani- 
mosity and  bitterness.  The  immorality  of  tlie  court  poisoned 
the  capital  and  the  provinces.  Savagery  and  licentiousness 
grew  rampant.  .  .  .  Hypocrisy  and  bigotry  took  the  place 
of  piety  among  those  who  strove  after  something  higher,  while 
the  masses  consoled  themselves  with  the  reflection  that  every 
man  could  not  be  a  monk.  .  .  .  The  shady  side  of  this 
period  is  dark  enough  but  a  bright  side  and  noble  personages 
of  deep  piety,  moral  earnestness,  resolute  denial  of  self  and  the 
world  are  certainly  not  wanting."  ^  Not  only  was  religious  life 
at  a  low  level  in  all  parts  of  Christendom  but  heresies  were 
continually  springing  up  to  disturb  the  peace  or  to  introduce 
gigantic  errors.  Arabia  was  at  one  time  called  "the  mother 
of  heresies. ' '  The  most  flagrant  example  was  that  of  the  Col- 
lyridians,  in  the  fourth  century,  which  consisted  in  a  heathen- 
1  Kurtz'  "  Church  History, "  Vol.  I.,  p.  386. 


EARLY  CHRISTIANITY  IN  ARABIA  3U7 

ish  distortion  of  mariolatry.  Cakes  were  offered  to  the  Holy 
Virgin,  as  in  heathen  times  to  Ceres. 

At  what  time  Christianity  was  first  introduced  into  Arabia 
Felix  is  uncertain.  This  part  of  Arabia  was  in  a  measure  shut 
off  from  the  world  of  the  Romans  until  the  expedition  of  ^iillius 
Gallus.  Before  the  coming  of  Christianity  the  Yemenites  were 
either  idolaters  or  Sabeans.  The  large  numbers  of  Jews  in 
Yemen  was  an  additional  obstacle  to  the  early  spread  of  the 
faith  as  they  were  always  bitterly  hostile  to  the  missionaries. 
The  legend  that  St.  Bartholomew  preached  in  Yemen  on  his 
way  to  India  need  not  be  considered ;  nor  the  more  probable 
one  of  Frumentius  and  his  success  as  first  bishop  to  Himyar. 
In  the  reign  of  Constantius,  Theophilus,  the  deacon  of  Nico- 
media,  a  zealous  Arian,  was  sent  by  the  emperor  to  attend  a 
magnificent  embassy  to  the  court  of  Himyar  and  is  said  to  have 
prevailed  on  the  Arabian  king  to  embrace  Christianity.  He 
built  three  churches  in  different  parts  of  Yemen,  at  Zaphar, 
Aden  and  Sana,  as  well  as  at  Hormuz  in  the  Persian  Gulf.  No 
less  than  four  bishoprics  were  established  and  the  tribes  of  Rabia 
Ghassan,  and  Kodaa  were  won  to  the  faith.  Ibn  Khalikan,  the 
Arabian  historian,  enumerates  as  Christian  tribes,  the  Bahrah, 
Tanouch  and  Taglab.  In  Nejran,  north  of  Sana,  and  Yathrib 
there  were  also  Christians. 

Arabian  idolatry  was  very  tolerant  and  afforded  throughout 
the  third  and  fourth  centuries  an  equally  safe  asylum  to  the 
persecuted  Zoroastrians,  Jews  and  Christians  who  settled  in 
various  parts  of  the  Peninsula.  The  kings  of  Himyar  were 
themselves  idolaters  but  allowed  every  other  sect  great  freedom, 
including  the  Christians.  But  no  sooner  did  the  followers  of 
Judaism  gain  power  than  persecution  began.  About  the  year 
560,  Dzu  Nowass,  ruler  of  Himyar,  revolted  against  his  lord 
the  Abyssinian  king,  Elesbaan,  and,  instigated  by  the  Jews, 
began  to  persecute  the  Christians.  All  who  refused  to  renounce 
their  faith  were  put  to  death  without  respect  of  age  or  sex,  and 
the  villages  of  Nejran  were  given  over  to  plunder.     Large  pits 


308  /1RABIA,   THE   CRADLE   OF  ISLAM 

were  dug,  filled  with  fuel,  and  many  thousands  of  monks  and 
virgins  were  committed  to  the  flames. 

Speedy  punishment,  however,  overtook  Dzu  Nowass  when 
the  Abyssinian  hosts  invaded  Yemen.  The  Christian  con- 
querors avenged  the  massacre  on  its  perpetrators,  the  Jews, 
with  heathen  fury.  The  whole  fertile  tract  was  once  more  a 
scene  of  bloodshed  and  devastation.  The  churches  built  before 
the  days  of  Dzu  Nowass  were  again  rebuilt  on  the  site  of  their 
ruins  and  new  bishops  were  appointed  in  place  of  the  martyrs. 
A  short,  though  desperate,  civil  war,  resulting  in  the  proclama- 
tion of  Abraha  as  king  of  Yemen,  did  not  disturb  the  steady 
growth  of  Christianity.  Paying  tribute  only  to  the  Abyssinian 
crown,  and  at  peace  with  all  the  Arab  tribes,  Abraha  was  loved 
for  his  justice  and  moderation  by  all  his  subjects  and  idolized 
by  the  Christians  for  his  burning  zeal  in  their  religion.  Large 
numbers  of  Jews,  convinced  by  a  public  dispute  and  a  miracle 
at  Dhafar,  were  baptized.  Many  idolaters  were  added  to  the 
church ;  new  schemes  of  benevolence  were  inaugurated  ;  the 
foundations  were  being  laid  for  a  magnificent  cathedral  at 
Sana  ;  in  short  Christian  Yemen  seemed  on  the  eve  of  its  Golden 
Age  in  the  year  567  a.  d. 

What  delayed  its  coming  and  how  did  the  power  of  Abraha 
loose  its  prestige?  The  story  is  gleaned  from  Moslem  and 
Christian  writers  ;  it  is  the  last  sad  chapter  in  the  short  history 
of  early  Christianity  in  Arabia  and  the  preface  to  the  chronicles 
of  Islam.  So  important  is  it  considered  that  the  synopsis  of 
it  is  embodied  in  the  Koran  for  the  perpetual  delight  of  Mos- 
lems. 

In  the  early  fall  of  the  year  568,  the  caravans  of  Arabs,  which 
came  along  the  level  road  leading  from  Rhoda,  bordered  with 
rich  vineyards  and  fig-orchards,  stopped,  on  entering  Sana,  be- 
cause of  a  crowd  that  stood  gazing  at  a  large  piece  of  parchment 
nailed  on  the  side  wall  of  the  entrance  to  the  city.  It  was  a  royal 
proclamation  written  in  large  Himyaritic  letters.  A  townsman 
in  the  long  dress  of  a  public  teacher  stood  before  it  and  read 


EARLY  CHRISTIANITY  IN  ARABIA  309 

aloud  to  the  motley  crowd  that  paused  as  they  came  to  morning 
market  from  the  neighboring  villages.  Stately  camels,  bearing 
huge  loads  of  dates,  were  urged  by  their  drivers,  who  good- 
humoredly  exchanged  greetings  with  their  Christian  brethren  ; 
donkeys,  nearly  hidden  between  baskets  of  luscious  grapes, 
jostled  a  group  of  Jewish  money-changers  sitting  in  the  gate ; 
a  score  of  women,  dark-eyed  and  in  picturesque  peasant  dress, 
were  carrying  their  empty  gerbies  to  the  wells — but  one  and  all 
moved  with  curiosity,  stood  for  a  moment  to  listen. 
The  presbyter,  for  such  he  was,  read  as  follows  : 
"  I,  Ibraha,  by  the  grace  of  God  and  Jesus  Christ  our  Sav- 
iour, king  of  Yemen,  taking  counsel  and  advice  of  the  good 
Gregentius,  bishop  of  Dhafar,  and  having  completed  the  build- 
ing of  the  cathedral  to  the  glory  of  God  and  in  memory  of  our 
victory  over  the  idolaters,  do  now  and  hereby  proclaim  that  all 
the  Arab  tribes  who  annually  visit  the  heathen  shrine  at 
Mecca,  are  expected  to  cease  going  thither  and  to  come  with 
their  caravans  of  merchandise  to  worship  the  true  God,  on  a 
shorter  and  more  convenient  journey  to  our  magnificent  church 
at  Sana,  the  capital,  on  penalty  of  a  levy  to  be  put  by  me  on 
all  caravans  of  tribes  that  refuse  to  obey  this  proclamation. 
And  be  it  furthermore  known  to  all  the  tribes  of  Koreish. 
."  The  reader  was  rudely  interrupted  by  a  party  of 
Bedouin  who  drove  their  dromedaries  right  through  the  gate 
and  up  the  street  with  such  fury  that  some  of  the  crowd  barely 
escaped  being  run  over. 

"  It  is  a  troop  of  those  accursed  Kenanehs,"  said  Ibn  Choza 
to  his  companion.  "  They  were  born  without  manners — wild 
asses  of  the  desert."  "  Yes,"  answered  the  other  ;  "  and  who 
insult  our  good  king  with  their  nickname  of  El  Ashram, — the 
split  nosed, — because  of  the  scar  that  remains  since  his  en- 
counter with  the  heathen  Aryat."  "If  such  as  these,  Abood, 
do  not  obey  this  latest  order  from  our  Christian  king,  we'll  try 
the  spears  of  my  Modarites,  and  then  woe  betide  their  cara\^ans 
of  semn  and  their  fertile  palms.     Not  all  the  three  hundred 


310  ARABIA,   THE  CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

gods  of  the  Kaabeh  could  save  them  from  the  righteous  wrath 
of  Abraha." 

The  new  cathedral,  whose  ruined  foundations  yet  testify  as 
to  its  size  and  solidity,  had  been  completed  for  some  months, 
and  on  the  morrow  the  good  bishop  was  expected  from  Dhafar 
to  preach  to  the  crowds  that  thronged  Yemen's  capital  at  the 
feast.  This  year  more  strangers  than  ever  before  crowded  the 
markets ;  many  were  come,  in  obedience  to  the  proclamation, 
even  from  distant  Yathrib  and  from  beyond  Nejran,  to  engage 
in  commerce  and  religion  at  once, — the  universal  custom  of 
the  Arabs.  The  autumn  rains  were  over  and  a  fresh  breeze 
from  Jebel  Nokum  increased  the  cold,  felt  by  such  strangers 
especially,  as  came  for  the  first  time  from  the  hot  coast  to  an 
elevation  of  9,000  feet. 

Night  fell  on  the  towers  and  palaces  of  Sana,  and  there  was 
no  light  in  the  streets  except  that  of  stars  shining  with  northern 
brilliancy  from  between  drifting  clouds.  Just  before  midnight, 
a  solitary  Arab  hurried  along  one  of  the  narrow  paths,  too  nar- 
row to  be  called  a  street,  which  led  from  the  caravanseri  to  the 
church.  His  face  and  form  were  wrapped  in  a  long  sheep- 
skin cloak,  but  his  erect  bearing,  vigorous  step,  and  the  carved 
silver  handle  of  the  curved  dagger,  half  hidden  in  his  belt,  be- 
trayed one  of  the  Kenaneh  tribe.  Stealthily  looking  around, 
he  stopped  before  one  of  the  windows  of  the  cathedral ;  lifted 
himself  to  the  granite  ledge,  dextrously  used  his  dagger  to  re- 
move one  of  the  large  panes  of  talc-stone  (still  used  in  all  Sana), 
and  jumped  inside.  He  lingered  only  a  few  moments,  came  out 
as  he  went  in,  and  hurried  off  toward  the  way  of  the  North  gate. 

On  the  morrow  a  cry  arose  from  the  early  worshippers,  car- 
ried on  the  lips  of  every  Christian  in  Sana,  till  it  echoed 
through  market  and  street :  "  Abrahams  chtirch  has  been  defiled  ! 
Dung  is  on  the  altar,  and  the  holy  cross  is  smeared  with  ordure  ! 
'Tis  the  work  of  the  accursed  Kenaneh — the  signal  of  revolt 
for  the  idolaters  of  the  North  !  "  There  was  tumult  in  Sana. 
In  vain   Gregentius  endeavored  to  quiet  the  populace  by  hi§ 


EARLY  CHRISTIANITY  IN  ARABIA  311 

eloquence.  Adding  fuel  to  the  flame,  came  the  news  on  the 
same  day  of  the  defeat  of  the  Modarites  and  the  death  of  Ibn 
Choza,  whom  the  king  had  sent  on  an  expedition  to  a  rebel- 
lious tribe  in  Wady  Dauasir.  Abraha's  wrath  was  doubly  in- 
flamed by  the  profanation  of  his  church  and  the  death  of  his 
captain.  He  publicly  vowed  to  annihilate  the  idolatrous 
Koreish,  as  well  as  the  Kenaneh,  and  to  demolish  their  temple 
at  Mecca.  Before  nightfall  that  vow  was  the  rallying-cry  in  the 
soldiers'  quarter  and  the  toast  in  every  Jewish  wine  shop  of  Sana. 

The  expedition  was  soon  on  its  way.  Abraha  rode  foremost, 
seated  on  his  milk-white  elephant,  caparisoned  with  plates  of 
gold.  On  his  head  was  a  linen  cap  covered  with  gold  em- 
broidery, and  from  which  descended  four  chains.  He  wore  a 
loose  tunic  covered  with  pearls  and  Yemen  akeek  stone,  over 
his  usual  dress ;  while  his  muscular  arms  and  short  neck  were 
almost  hidden  with  bracelets  and  chains  of  gold  in  the  Abys- 
sinian pattern  ;  for  arms  he  had  a  shield  and  spears.  After  him 
came  a  band  of  musicians,  and  then  the  nobles  and  warriors, 
under  command  of  the  valiant  Kais.  Than  him  no  better 
leader  could  have  been  chosen.  Mourning  the  untimely  death 
of  his  brother,  Ibn  Choza,  slain  by  the  treacherous  arrow  of 
Orwa,  he  sought  a  personal  revenge  even  more  than  the  honor 
of  his  religion  and  his  king,  and  was  prepared  to  risk  all  in 
fulfillment  of  the  expedition.  The  army,  increased  by  volun- 
teers at  every  village  on  their  route,  by  forced  marches  over 
two  hundred  miles  of  mountain  road,  reached  Jebel  Orra,  weary 
and  footsore.  What  is  only  a  usual  journey  to  the  Bedouin  of 
the  North,  was  a  succession  of  hardships  to  the  Yemen  troops, 
accustomed  as  they  were  to  mountain  air,  plenty  of  water  and 
the  rich  fertility  of  their  native  valleys.  No  less  did  the  herd 
of  elephants  suffer  from  the  fatigue  of  distance  and  the  scarcity 
of  pasturage  and  water.  Every  day  the  advance  was  made 
with  increasing  difficulty. 

Meanwhile  the  Koreish  had  not  been  idle.  Rumor  never 
runs  faster  than  in  the  desert.     All  those  who  loved  Mecca, 


312  ARABIA,    THE  C        .uc   OF  ISLAM 

that  oldest  historic  centre  of  r  Western  Arabia,  rallied  to  the 
standard  of  the  Koreish.  It,  vas  the  Kaaba,  with  its  three 
hundred  and  sixty  idols,  against  the  Cross.  No  sooner  was 
Abraha's  approach  known,  ih  a  Dzu  Neffer,  Ibn  Habib  and 
other  chiefs  at  the  head  of,,  e  tribes  of  Hamedan  and  Che- 
thamah  gathered  to  oppose  t'  advance.  A  desperate  conflict 
followed,  but  the  camels  we.  frightened  at  the  sight  of  the 
elephants,  nor  could  the  des  Arabs  withstand  an  assault  of 
such  large  numbers. 

The  news  of  defeat  struck  e  Koreish  with  the  greatest  con- 
sternation, and  Abdulmutt  j,  grandfather  of  the  future 
prophet,  who  was  guardian  the  Kaaba,  took  counsel  with  all 
the  chiefs  of  the  allies.  A  swift  messenger  was  sent  to  Abraha 
offering  a  third  part  of  the  wealth  of  all  Hejaz  as  a  ransom  for 
the  sacred  Beit  Ullah.  The  king,  however,  was  inflexible,  and 
his  followers  cried  :  "  Vengeance  for  the  desecrated  Cross  in 
our  sanctuary  !  No  ransom  from  the  idolaters !  Down  with 
the  Kaaba  !  "  Finally  Abdulmuttalib  himself  came  to  seek 
audience.  He  was  admitted  to  Abraha's  presence  and  honored 
with  a  seat  by  his  side  ;  but  Arab  tradition  says  he  came  only 
to  ask  about  the  loss  of  some  camels,  and  told  Abraha  that  the 
Lord  of  the  Kaaba  would  defend  it  himself !  (Such  sublime 
faith  does  Moslem  tradition  put  into  the  mouth  of  the  prophet's 
ancestors,  even  though  the  anachronism  proves  its  falsehood.) 

On  the  following  day  Kais  led  the  advance  through  the  nar- 
row valley  that  leads  into  the  city.  Here  a  grievous  surprise 
awaited  the  host  of  The  Elephant.  To  supplement  the  faith 
of  Abdulmuttalib,  the  Arabs  laid  in  ambush,  and  before  day- 
dawn  every  one  of  the  Koreish  had  occupied  his  place  on  the 
heights  on  either  side  of  the  pass,  hidden  behind  the  rough 
masses  of  boulder  and  trap  that  to  this  day  make  the  whole 
hillside  a  natural  battery.  No  sooner  had  the  elephants  and 
their  riders  entered  the  defile,  than  a  shower  of  rocks  and 
stones  was  incessantly  poured  upon  them  by  their  assailants. 
The  unwieldly  animals,  mad  with   fright  and  pain,  trampled 


EARLY  CHK.^       1NITY  IN  ARABIA  313 

the  wounded  to  death,  and  (  ifusion  was  followed  by  headlong 
flight,  although  the  unequal  c  ^ntest  lasted  until  sunset.  It  was 
the  Thermopylae  of  Arabian  idolatry,  forever  after  celebrated 
in  the  Koran  chapter  of  Th"'- Elephant.  The  battle  affords  a 
miracle,  however,  to  the  M'-lIem  commentator  by  the  easy 
change  of  a  vowel,  which  n  -es  "miraculous  birds"  with 
hell-stones  in  their  beaks  ■•  ti's  avengers,  instead  of  the 
"  camel-troops  "  of  the  Korei,  '':  Two  months  after  the  victory 
that  prophet  was  born  whose  laracter  and  career  sealed  the 
fate  of  early  Christianity  in  abia,  already  decided  on  the 
fatal  day  when  Abraha  mount  ■  his  elephant  and  left  Sana  for 
revenge. 

The  division  of  the  Northern  tribes  between  the  Persians 
and  Romans,  followed  by  the  defeat  of  the  Yemen  hosts, 
brought  anarchy  to  all  central  Arabia.  The  idolaters  of  Hirah 
and  Ghassan  overran  the  south,  and  the  weak  reign  of  Yek- 
soum,  son  of  Abraha,  could  not  stay  the  decay  of  the  Chris- 
tian state.  Even  the  Persian  protectorate  only  delayed  its 
final  fall.  The  sudden  rise  of  Islam,  with  its  political  and  so- 
cial preponderance,  consummated  the  blow.  "  With  the  death 
of  Mohammed,"  says  Wright,  "the  last  sparks  of  Christianity 
in  Arabia  were  extinguished,  and  it  may  be  reasonably  doubted 
whether  any  Christians  were  then  left  in  the  whole  peninsula." 

In  1888,  Edward  Glaser,  the  explorer,  visited  nearly  every 
part  of  Yemen  and  among  his  discoveries  were  many  ancient 
inscriptions.  From  Mareb,  the  old  Sabean  capital,  he  brought 
back  over  three  hundred,  one  of  which  dates  from  542  a.  d., 
and  is  considered  by  Professor  Fritz  Hommel  the  latest  Sabean 
inscription.  It  consists  of  one  hundred  and  thirty-six  lines 
telling  of  the  suppressed  revolt  against  the  Ethiopic  rule  then 
established  in  Yemen.  The  inscription  opens  with  the  words  : 
"In  the  power  of  the  All-merciful,  and  His  Messiah 
AND  THE  Holy  Ghost."  This  and  the  scarcely  recognizable 
ruins  of  the  cathedral  at  Sana  are  the  only  remnants  of  Chris- 
tianity that  remain  in  Arabia  Felix, 


XXX 

THE   DAWN    OF   MODERN    ARABIAN    MISSIONS 

"  It  surely  is  not  without  a  purpose  that  this  widespread  and  powerful 
race  [the  Arabs]  has  been  kept  these  four  thousand  years,  unsubdued  and 
undegenerate,  preserving  still  the  vigor  and  simplicity  of  its  character.  It 
is  certainly  capable  of  a  great  future ;  and  as  certainly  a  great  future  lies 
before  it.  In  may  be  among  the  last  peoples  of  Southwestern  Asia  to 
yield  to  the  transforming  influences  of  Christianity  and  a  Christian  civili- 
zation. But  to  those  influences  it  will  assuredly  yield  in  the. fullness  of 
time." — Edson  L.  Clark. 

"  Every  nation  has  its  appointed  time,  and  when  their  appointed  time 
comes  they  cannot  keep  it  back  an  hour  nor  can  they  bring  it  on." — The 
Koran. 

TSLAM  dates  from  622  a.  d.,  but  the  first  Christian  mis- 
sionary  to  Mohammedans  was  Raymund  Lull,  who  was 
stoned  to  death  outside  the  town  of  Bugia,  North  Africa,  on 
June  30,  131 5.  He  was  also  the  first  and  only  Christian  of 
his  day  who  felt  the  extent  and  urgency  of  the  call  to  evangel- 
ize the  Mohammedan  world.  His  constant  argument  with 
Moslem  teachers  was  :  Islam  is  false  and  must  die.  His  devo- 
tion and  his  pure  character  coupled  with  such  intense  moral 
earnestness  won  some  converts,  but  his  great  central  purpose 
was  to  overthrow  the  power  of  Islam  as  a  system  by  logical 
demonstration  of  its  error  ;  in  this  he  failed.  His  two  spiritual 
treatises  are  interesting,  but  his  Ars  Major  would  not  convince 
a  Moslem  to-day  any  more  than  it  did  in  the  fourteenth  cen- 
tury. His  life  is  of  romantic  interest  and  his  indefatigable 
zeal  will  always  be  a  model  and  an  inspiration  to  missionaries 

3X4 


THE  DAIVN  OF  MODERN  ARABIAN  MISSIONS         315 

among  Moslems,  i  But  he  lived  before  his  time  and  his  age 
was  unworthy  of  him. 

Nothing  was  done  to  give  the  gospel  to  Arabia  or  the  Mo- 
hammedans from  the  time  of  Raymund  Lull  to  that  of  Henry 
Martyn,  the  first  modern  missionary  to  the  Mohammedans. 
The  histories  of  these  two  men  contain  all  that  there  is  to  be 
written  about  missionary  work  for  the  Mohammedan  world 
from  622  until  181 2,  so  little  did  the  Church  of  God  feel  its 
responsibility  toward  the  millions  walking  in  darkness  after  the 
false  prophet. 

To  the  Protestant  Church  of  the  eighteenth  century  Arabia 
and  the  Levant  presented  no  attractions  or  appeal.  The  Turks, 
as  representing  the  Mohammedan  world,  were  remembered  as 
early  as  1549,  it  is  true,  by  the  English  Book  of  Common 
Prayer,  in  the  collect  for  Good  Friday,^  (which  dates  from  the 
Sarum  Missal).  No  effort  was  made,  however,  to  carry  the 
gospel  to  them  or  to  any  part  of  their  empire,  until  long  after 
other  far  more  distant  regions  had  been  reached.  Even  Carey 
did  not  have  the  Moslem  world  on  his  large  program.  It  was 
Claudius  Buchanan  who  first  aroused  an  interest  in  the  needs 
of  the  Moslem  world.  On  his  return  from  India  he  told,  on 
February  25,  1809,  in  his  sermon  at  Bristol,  the  story  of  two 
Moslem  converts,  one  of  whom  had  died  a  martyr  to  Christ. 

1  See  Smith's  "  Short  History  of  Missions."  Peroquet,  Vie  de  Raymund 
Lull  (1667).  Low  de  Vita  Ray.  Lull  (Halle,  1830).  Helfferich  Ray- 
mund Lull  (Berlin,  1858).  Dublin  L/mv.  Mag.,  Vol.  LXXVIIL,  p.  43, 
"  His  Life  and  Work." 

2  0  merciful  God,  who  hast  made  all  men,  and  hatest  nothing  that  Thou 
hast  made,  nor  wouldest  the  death  of  a  sinner,  but  rather  that  he  should 
be  converted  and  live :  have  mercy  upon  all  Jews,  Turks,  Infidels,  and 
Heretics,  and  take  from  them  all  ignorance,  hardness  of  heart,  and  con- 
tempt of  Thy  Word,  and  so  fetch  them  home,  blessed  Lord,  to  Thy  flock, 
that  they  may  be  saved  among  the  remnant  of  the  true  Israelites,  and  be 
made  one  fold  under  one  Shepherd,  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord,  who  liveth  and 
reigneth  with  Thee  and  the  Holy  Spirit,  one  God,  world  without  end. 
Amen. 


316  ARABIA ,   THE   CRADLE   OF  ISLAM 

In  his  Christian  Researches  he  propounds  a  comprehensive 
scheme  for  the  evangelization  of  the  Levant.  The  Church 
Missionary  Society  sent  out  missionaries,  and  in  1819  the 
American  Board  began  work  for  Moslems  by  sending  Pliny 
Fisk  and  Levi  Parsons  to  Syria. 

This  modern  beginning  of  the  gospel  in  Asia  Minor  had  an 
indirect  bearing  on  the  future  evangelization  of  Arabia  and 
was  a  part  of  the  Divine  preparation.  The  journeys  of  Eli 
Smith  and  H.  G.  O.  Dvvight  brought  the  American  churches 
face  to  face  with  the  whole  problem  of  missions  in  that  region. 
The  Syrian  Mission  through  its  press  at  Malta  (1822)  began 
the  assault  on  the  citadel  of  Islam's  learning.  In  1833  the 
press  was  removed  to  Beirut ;  and  from  that  day  until  now  it 
has  been  scattering  leaves  of  healing  throughout  all  the  Arabic- 
speakhig  world.  When  in  1865  Dr.  Van  Dyck  wrote  the  last 
sheet  of  ' '  copy  * '  of  the  Arabic  Bible  translation  and  handed 
it  to  the  compositor,  he  marked  an  era  of  importance  not  only 
to  Syria  and  Asia  Minor,  but  to  the  whole  of  Arabia,  greater 
than  any  accession  or  deposition  of  sultans.  That  Bible  made 
modern  missions  to  Arabia  possible ;  it  was  the  result  of  seventeen 
years  of  labor;  "and  herein  is  that  saying  true.  One  soweth, 
and  another  reapeth  .  .  .  other  men  labored  and  ye  are 
entered  into  their  labors."  Whatever  special  difficulties  and 
obstacles  missionaries  to  Arabia  have  met  or  will  meet,  the 
great  work  of  preparing  the  Word  of  God  in  the  language  of 
the  people  and  a  complete  Christian  literature  for  every  depart- 
ment of  work,  has  already  been  accomplished  by  others ;  and 
accomplished  in  such  a  way  that  the  Arabic  Bible  of  Beirut 
will  always  be  the  Bible  for  Oman  and  Nejd  and  the  most  in- 
land villages  of  Yemen  and  Hadramaut. 

The  history  of  direct  effort  to  reach  the  great  Arabian  penin- 
sula begins  with  Henry  Martyn.  It  is  deeply  interesting  to 
follow  the  gradual  unfoldings  of  the  Divine  Providence  in  the 
reintroduction  of  the  gospel  into  Arabia  thirteen  centuries  after 
Christianity  had  been  blotted  out  in  that  land  by  the  sword  of 


THE  DAlVhl  OF  MODERN  ARABIAN  MISSIONS         317 

Mohammed  and  his  successors.  In  more  than  one  sense  Henry 
Martyn  was  the  pioneer  missionary  to  Arabia.  He  first  came 
into  contact  with  the  Arabs  through  his  study  of  their  language 
and  his  employment  of  that  remarkable  character,  Sabat,  as 
his  munshee  and  co-worker.  Sabat  and  his  friend  Abdullah 
were  two  Arabs  of  notable  pedigree,  who,  after  visiting  Mecca, 
resolved  to  see  the  world.  They  first  went  to  Cabul,  where 
Abdullah  entered  the  service  of  the  famous  Ameer  Zeman  Shah. 
Through  the  efforts  of  an  Armenian  Christian  he  abjured  Islam 
and  had  to  flee  for  his  life  to  Bokhara.  ' '  Sabat  had  preceded 
him  there  and  at  once  recognized  him  on  the  street.  '  I  had 
no  pity,'  said  Sabat  afterward,  'I  delivered  him  up  to  Morad 
Shah,  the  king.'  He  was  offered  his  life  if  he  would  abjure 
Christ.  He  refused.  Then  one  of  his  hands  was  cut  off  and 
again  he  was  pressed  to  recant.  '  He  made  no  answer,  but  looked 
up  steadfastly  toward  heaven,  like  Stephen,  the  first  martyr, 
his  eyes  streaming  with  tears.  He  looked  at  me,  but  it  was 
with  the  countenance  of  forgiveness.  His  other  hand  was  then 
cut  off.  But  he  never  changed,  and  when  he  bowed  his  head 
to  receive  the  blow  of  death  all  Bokhara  seemed  to  say,  What 
new  thing  is  this  ?  '  Remorse  drove  Sabat  to  long  wanderings, 
in  which  he  came  to  Madras,  where  the  government  gave  him 
the  office  of  mufti  or  expounder  of  the  law  of  Islam  in  the  civil 
courts.  At  Vizagapatam  he  fell  in  with  a  copy  of  the  Arabic 
New  Testament  as  revised  by  Solomon  Negri  and  sent  out  to 
India  in  the  middle  of  last  century  by  the  Society  for  Promot- 
ing Christian  Knowledge.  He  compared  it  with  the  Koran 
and  the  truth  fell  on  him  like  a  flood  of  light.  He 
sought  baptism  in  Madras  at  the  hands  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Kerr 
and  was  named  Nathaniel.  He  was  then  twenty-seven  years 
of  age.  When  the  news  reached  his  family  in  Arabia,  his 
brother  set  out  to  destroy  him,  and,  disguised  as  an  Asiatic, 
wounded  him  with  a  dagger  as  he  sat  in  his  house  at  Vizaga- 
patam. He  sent  him  home  with  letters  and  gifts  to  his  mother, 
and  then  gave  himself  up  to  propagate  the  truth  he  had  once 


318  ARABIA,   THE  CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

in  his  friend  Abdullah's  person,  persecuted  to  the  death."' 
These  two  were  doubtless  the  first  fruits  of  modern  Arabia  to 
Christ. 

It  was  doubtless  in  a  great  degree  Sabat  who  directed 
Martyn's  thoughts  and  plans  toward  Arabia  and  the  Arabs. 
On  the  last  day  of  the  year  1810  he  wrote  in  his  diary :  "I 
now  pass  from  India  to  Arabia,  not  knowing  what  things  shall 
befall  me  there."  His  purpose  in  leaving  India  was  partly  his 
broken  health  but  more  his  intense  longing  to  give  the  Moham- 
medans of  Arabia  and  Persia  the  word  of  God  in  their  own 
tongues.  On  his  voyage  from  Calcutta  to  Bombay  he  com- 
posed tracts  in  Arabic,  spoke  with  the  Arab  sailors  and  studied 
the  Koran  and  Niebuhr's  travels  in  Arabia.  From  Bombay  he 
sailed  for  Arabia  and  Persia  in  one  of  the  ships  of  the  old 
Indian  navy  going  on  a  cruise  in  the  Persian  Gulf.  He  reached 
Muscat  on  April  20,  181 1,  and  writes  his  first  impressions  in  a 
letter  to  Lydia Grenfell :  "I  am  now  in  Arabia  Felix ;  to  judge 
from  the  aspect  of  the  country  it  has  little  pretensions  to  the 
name,  unless  burning,  barren  rocks  convey  an  idea  of  felicity ; 
but  as  there  is  a  promise  in  reserve  for  the  sons  of  Joktan,  their 
land  may  one  day  be  blessed  indeed."  He  attempted  to  go 
inland  for  a  short  distance,  but  was  forbidden  by  the  soldiers  of 
the  Sultan  of  Muscat. 

Every  word  of  Henry  Martyn's  journal  regarding  Arabia  is 
precious,  but  we  can  quote  only  one  more  passage :  "  April  24. 
Went  with  one  English  party  and  two  Armenians  and  an 
Arab  who  served  as  guard  and  guide  to  see  a  remarkable  pass 
about  a  mile  from  the  town  and  a  garden  planted  by  a  Hindu 
in  a  little  village  beyond.  There  was  nothing  to  see,  only  the 
little  bit  of  green  in  this  wilderness  seemed  to  the  Arab  a  great 
curiosity.  I  conversed  a  good  deal  with  him,  but  particularly 
with  his  African  slave,  who  was  very  intelligent  about  religion. 
The  latter  knew  as  much  about  his  religion  as  most  mountaineers, 

•  "  Life  of  Henry  Martyn,"  by  George  Smith,  C.  I.  E.,  LL.  D.,  (1892) 
p.  226. 


THE  D^H^'N  OF  MODERN  ARABIAN  MISSIONS         319 

and  withal  was  so  interested  that  he  would  not  cease  from  his 
argument  till  I  left  the  shore." 

Martyn  did  not  tarry  long  at  Muscat  but  his  visit  was  "a 
little  bit  of  green  in  this  wilderness"  and  the  prayers  he  there 
offered  found  answer  in  God's  Providence  long  afterward.  On 
all  his  voyage  to  Bushire  he  was  continually  busy  with  his 
Arabic  translation ;  the  people  of  Arabia  were  still  first  in  his 
heart  for  he  expresses  himself  as  desirous  finally  "to  go  to 
Arabia  circuitously  by  way  of  Persia."  His  longing  to  give 
the  Arabs  the  Scripture  began  in  India  and  intensified  his  de- 
votion to  the  study  of  Hebrew.  Had  Martyn's  chief  assistant 
in  the  Arabic  translating,  Sabat,  been  a  better  scholar  their 
New  Testament  version  would  have  proved  abidingly  useful. 
As  Sabat' s  knowledge  of  the  language  proved  very  faulty  their 
Arabic  Testament  did  not  remain  in  use.  It  was  first  printed 
at  Calcutta  in  1816,  and  although  it  accomplished  a  good  work 
in  common  with  other  old  translations,  all  have  been  superseded 
by  the  wonderfully  perfect  version  of  Eli  Smith  and  Van  Dyck. 
It  was  not  due  to  Martyn,  however,  that  the  Arabic  language 
had  no  worthy  version  of  the  Bible  until  i860.  In  his  diaries 
for  September  8  and  9,  18 10,  we  read  these  remarkable  entries  : 
"  If  my  life  is  spared,  there  is  no  reason  why  the  Arabic  should 
not  be  done  in  Arabia,  and  the  Persian  in  Persia  as  well  as  the 
Indian  in  India."  .  .  .  "Arabia  shall  hide  me  till  I  come 
forth  with  an  approved  New  Testament  in  Arabic."  .  .  . 
"  Will  government  let  me  go  away  for  three  years  before  the 
time  of  my  furlough  arrives  ?  If  not  I  must  quit  the  service, 
and  I  cannot  devote  my  life  to  a  more  important  work  than  that 
of  preparing  the  Arabic  Bible." 

These  facts  about  Martyn's  life  show  at  how  many  points  it 
touched  Arabia;  his  purposes,  his  prayers,  his  studies,  his 
translations,  his  fellow-worker,  and  his  visit  to  Muscat.  But 
more  than  all  these  was  the  result  for  Arabia  of  Martyn's  in- 
fluence and  the  power  of  his  spirit  to  inspire  others. 


320  /iRABl/1,   THE  CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

"  O  Eastern  lover  from  the  West ! 

Thou  hast  outsoared  these  prisoning  bars; 
Thy  memory,  on  thy  Master's  breast, 

Uplifts  us  like  the  beckoning  stars. 
We  follow  now  as  thou  hast  led 
Baptize  us,  Saviour,  for  the  dead." 

In  1829  Anthony  N.  Groves,  a  dentist  of  Exeter,  taking  the 
commands  of  Christ  Hterally,  sold  all  he  had  and,  in  the  spirit 
of  Martyn,  began  his  remarkable  attempt  at  mission  work  in 
Bagdad.  His  work  was  stopped  twice,  by  the  plague  and  by 
persecution,  and  the  story  of  his  life  reveals  how  great  were  the 
obstacles  which  he  vainly  tried  to  surmount.'  From  that  day 
until  long  years  after  Northern  and  Eastern  Arabia  were  wait- 
ing once  more  for  the  light.  The  only  effort  made  in  the  Gulf 
was  by  Dr.  John  Wilson  of  Bombay  who,  before  1843,  sent 
Bible  colporteurs  once  and  again  by  Aden  and  up  the  Persian 
Gulf;  "he  summoned  the  Church  of  Scotland  to  despatch  a 
mission  to  the  Jews  of  Arabia,  Busrah  and  Bombay.  A  mis- 
sionary was  ready  in  the  person  of  William  Burns  who  after- 
ward went  to  China,  the  support  of  a  missionary  at  Aden  was 
guaranteed  by  a  friend  and  Wilson  had  found  a  volunteer  '  for 
the  purpose  of  exploring  Arabia '  when  the  disruption  of  the 
Church  of  Scotland  arrested  the  movement."^  It  was  Henry 
Martyn's  life  that  inspired  John  Wilson  in  1824.  It  was  the 
Free  Church  of  Scotland  that  afterward  took  up  the  work  of 
Ion  Keith  Falconer  the  pioneer  of  Yemen.  So  God's  plans 
find  fulfillment.  Even  Muscat  was  not  left  without  a  witness 
in  those  years  of  waiting.  It  appears  that  the  captain  of  an 
American  ship  which  called  at  Muscat  every  year  for  a  cargo 
of  dates  was  a  godly  man  and  used  to  distribute  Arabic  Bibles 
and  Testaments,  even  before  the  Bible  Society  extended  its 
work  to  this  place. 

'  Journal  of  Mr.  Anthony  N.  Groves,  Missionary  to  and  at  Bagdad. 
(London,  1 831.) 

*  George  Smith's  Life  of  Martyn,  p.  563. 


THE  DAIVN  OF  MODERN  ARABIAN  MISSIONS         321 

As  early  as  1878  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society  sent 
Anton  Gibrail  from  Bombay  to  Bagdad  on  a  colporteur-journey. 
And  about  the  same  time  the  South  Russia  agent  of  the  So- 
ciety, Mr.  James  Watt,  visited  Persia  and  Bagdad  and  pressed 
the  needs  of  this  field  on  the  committee  of  the  Bible  Society. 
He  was  seconded  in  his  efforts  by  Rev.  Robert  (now  Canon) 
Bruce,  a  Church  Missionary  Society  Missionary  in  India.  Ar- 
rangements were  made  between  the  two  societies  by  which  Bible 
work  was  opened  in  Bagdad  under  the  supervision  of  Mr.  Bruce. 
In  December,  1880,  a  Bible  depot  was  opened.  Since  then  the 
work  has  gone  on  continuously  and  extended,  through  the 
Arabian  Mission,  to  the  entire  east  coast  of  Arabia. 

The  first  reference  to  the  needs  and  opportunities  for  work 
in  Western  Arabia  appears  in  the  Annual  Report  of  the  British 
Bible  Society  for  1886,  where  the  opening  of  a  Bible  depot  at 
Aden  is  announced  with  the  hope  that  it  would  lead  to  "the 
circulation  of  the  Holy  Bible  on  a  larger  scale  and  in  a  variety 
of  languages."  Ibrahim  Abd  el  Masih  was  the  first  in  charge 
of  this  depot,  and  his  name  was  attached  to  the  call  for  prayer 
from  South  Arabia  issued  after  the  death  of  Keith  Falconer. 
Colporteurs  from  Egypt  and  from  Aden  of  the  British  and 
Foreign  Bible  Society  have  once  and  again  visited  the  Arabian 
Red  Sea  ports  and  penetrated  to  Sana,  the  capital  of  Yemen. 

Between  the  years  1880  and  1890  more  than  one  appeal  went 
forth  for  Arabia's  need.  Old  Doctor  Lansing  of  the  American 
U.  P.  Mission  in  Egypt  who  for  over  thirty  years  had  labored 
there  waiting  for  the  dawn  of  a  brighter  day,  when  he  heard  of 
one  of  these  appeals,  was  all  on  fire,  to  start  for  Yemen.  "  For 
some  years,"  wrote  an  American  minister  in  the  far  West,  "I 
and  my  people  have  been  praying  for  Arabia." 

The  Wahabi  reformation  in  its  time  attracted  the  interest 
of  those  who  studied  the  political  horizon.  The  bombardment 
of  Jiddah  in  1858  compelled  attention  to  Mecca  and  the  pil- 
grimage, while  from  1838,  when  England  became  mistress  of 
Aden,  until  1880  commerce  and  exploration  was  specially  ac- 


322  ARABIA,   THE  CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

tive  on  all  the  Arabian  coast.  It  was  during  this  period  that 
the  Anglo-Indian  naval  officers  Moresby,  Haines,  Elwon, 
Saunders,  Carless,  Wellsted  and  Cruttenden  carefully  sur- 
veyed the  entire  Arabian  coast.  What  they  did  for  commerce, 
Major-General  F.  T.  Haig  did  for  missions  in  Arabia.  He  it 
was  who  first  made  the  extensive  journey  all  around  the  coast 
of  Arabia  and  into  the  interior  of  Yemen.  His  articles  plead- 
ing for  the  occupation  of  the  Peninsula  reached  Keith  Falconer 
and  finally  decided  his  choice  of  a  particular  field,  in  the  wide 
Mohammedan  world,  to  which  his  thoughts  were  already  turned. 
It  was  also  the  experience  and  counsel  of  this  man  of  God  that 
helped  to  determine  the  final  location  as  well  as  the  preliminary 
explorations  of  the  American  missionaries  of  the  Arabian  mis- 
sion in  1890-92.  The  reports  of  General  Haig  are  even  to-day 
the  best  condensed  statement  of  the  needs  and  opportunities  in 
the  long  neglected  Peninsula  while  his  account  of  the  problems 
to  be  met  and  the  right  sort  of  men  to  meet  them  will  always 
remain  invaluable  until  the  evangelization  of  Arabia  is  an  ac- 
complished fact. 

In  1886  General  Haig  was  asked  by  the  committee  of  the 
Church  Missionary  Society  to  undertake  an  exploration  of  the 
Red  Sea  coast  of  Arabia  and  Somaliland  with  a  view  to  ascer- 
taining the  openings  for  missionary  effort.  He  set  out  from 
London  on  October  12th,  1886,  reaching  Alexandria  on  the 
19th,  and  proceeded  by  way  of  the  Red  Sea  coast  in  an  Egypt- 
ian steamer  to  Aden,  calling  at  Tor,  Yanbo,  Jiddah,  Suakin, 
Massawa  and  Hodeidah.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Harpur  of  the  Church 
Missionary  Society  were  already  at  Aden  seeking  an  opening 
for  mission  work ;  the  former  accompanied  General  Haig  back 
to  Hodeidah  and  occupied  that  place  for  a  time  as  the  first 
medical  missionary  in  Arabia.  General  Haig  then  took  the 
journey  inland  by  the  direct  route  to  Sana  with  Ibrahim,  the 
British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society  colporteur  and  from  Sana 
they  went  straight  across  Yemen  to  Aden.  Shortly  afterward 
General   Haig  proceeded  to  Muscat  and  up  the  Persian  Gulf 


THE  DAWN  OF  MODERN  ARABIAN  MISSION  323 

calling  at  all  the  ports.  From  Busrah  he  journeyed  along  the 
river  to  Bagdad  and  thence  across  the  Syrian  desert  by  the  over- 
land post  route  to  Damascus.  It  was  this  long  and  difficult 
journey  which  formed  the  basis  of  two  papers^  entitled  :  "On 
both  sides  of  the  Red  Sea,"  and  "  Arabia  as  a  Mission  Field."  ' 
A  few  brief  extracts  from  a  paper  contributed  to  the  Geo- 
graphical JournaP  show  the  character  of  this  first  appeal  to 
evangelize  the  land  of  the  Arabs.  Writing  of  Yemen  he  says  : 
"We  have  in  this  southwestern  part  of  Arabia  a  great  moun- 
tainous country  with  a  temperate  climate,  and  a  hardy  labor- 
ious race.  This  hill-country  and  its  races  extend  northward 
into  Asir  eastward  into  Hadramaut  for  an  indefinite  distance, 
while  to  the  northeast  they  extend  inland  as  far  as  the  borders 
of  the  great  desert.  The  finest  and  most  war-like  races  are 
those  to  be  found  to  the  north  and  northeast  of  Sana.  These 
have  never  yet  submitted  to  the  Turkish  yokes;  in  fact  the 
limits  of  the  Turkish  territory  to  the  east  of  Sana  are  only  a 
few  miles  distant  from  that  place.  Is  it  not  of  extreme  impor- 
tance in  connection  with  the  evangelization  of  all  Southern 
Arabia  that  the  gospel  should  be  preached  and  the  Word  of 
God  brought  to  these  hardy  mountaineers  ?  They  are  mostly 
Zeidiyeh,  a  sect  akin  to  the  Shiahs  in  doctrine,  but  I  saw  no 
trace  of  fanaticism  among  them,  rather  they  seemed  every- 
where willing  to  listen  to  the  truth.  For  the  most  part  I  sus- 
pect they  are  but  poor  observers  of  the  prescribed  religious 
practices  of  Islam.  During  the  whole  of  my  travels  in  Yemen 
I  never  once  saw  a  man  at  prayer,  and  in  only  a  few  of  the 
larger  villages  is  there  a  mosque.  The  women  are  particularly 
accessible ;  in  the  villages  they  wear  no  covering  to  the  face, 
and  those  that  we  met  at  the  khans,  or  inns,  were  always  ready 
to  come  forward  and  talk.     The  little  girls  used  frequendy  to 

'  Church  Missionary  Intelligencer  for  May  and  June,  1887. 
*  General  also  published  an  account  of  his  journey  in  Yemen  from  a 
geographical  standpoint  in  the  Geographical  Journal,  Vol.  IX.,  p.  479. 
'See  also  The  Missionary  Review  of  the  World,  October,  189^. 


324  ARABIA,   THE   CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

run  into  our  room,  and,  if  invited,  would  come  and  sit  down  by 
our  side.  Ignorance  is,  I  should  say,  the  predominant  char- 
acteristic of  the  whole  population — ignorance  of  their  own  reli- 
gion, ignorance  of  the  simplest  elements  of  truth.  I  believe  that 
an  evangelist,  thoroughly  master  of  the  language,  Arabic, 
might  go  from  village  to  village  all  over  Yemen  preaching,  or 
quietly  speaking  the  gospel." 

This  testimony  is  true.  But  the  challenge  has  never  yet 
been  accepted  and  all  the  highlands  are  still  waiting  for  the 
first  news  of  the  gospel.  Speaking  of  the  capital  of  Yemen  the 
report  goes  on  :  *'  Sana  is  a  most  important  point.  //  is  im- 
possible to  exaggerate  its  importance  from  a  jnissionary  point 
of  view.  It  is  in  the  centre  of  the  finest  races  of  Southern 
Arabia,  and  if  a  mission  could  be  established  there,  its  in- 
fluence would  extend  on  all  sides  to  a  multitude  of  tribes  other- 
wise shut  out  from  the  gospel." 

After  reviewing  in  detail  the  open  doors  in  every  part  of 
Arabia,  and  speaking  of  the  special  obstacles  at  each  point  to- 
gether with  the  best  methods  of  inaugurating  work,  he  writes 
toward  the  end  of  his  report :  "  /«  one  degree  or  another  then, 
all  Arabia  is,  I  consider,  open  to  the  gospel.  It  is  as  much 
open  to  it  as  the  world  generally  was  in  apostolic  times,  that  is 
to  say,  it  is  accessible  to  the  evangelist  at  many  different  points, 
at  all  of  which  he  would  find  men  and  women  needing  salva- 
tion, some  of  whom  would  receive  his  message,  while  others 
would  reject  it  and  persecute  him.  In  some  parts  of  the  coun- 
try he  would  not  be  molested  or  interfered  with  by  the  ruling 
powers;  in  others,  as  in  Turkish  Arabia,  he  might  be  arrested 
and  even  deported.  Dangerous  fanatics  are,  I  believe,  seldom 
met  with  but  occasionally  the  missionary  might  come  across 
such,  and  then  the  consequences  might  be  more  serious.  But 
what  if  his  lot  were  even  worse  than  this,  if  he  were  hunted 
from  village  to  village,  and  persecuted  from  city  to  city?  Our 
Lord  contemplated  no  other  reception  for  His  disciples  when 
He  sent  them  forth.    This  was  in  fact  His  ideal  of  the  mission- 


THE  DAWN  OF  MODERN  ARABIAN  MISSIONS         325 

ary  life.  .  .  .  'When  they  persecute  you  in  this  city 
(abandon  the  country?  No.)  flee  ye  into  another.'  The 
evangehst  in  Arabia  need  expect  nothing  worse  than  this  and 
even  this  would  probably  be  of  rare  occurrence. 
There  is  no  difficulty  then  about  preaching  the  gospel  in 
Arabia  if  men  can  be  found  to  face  the  consequences.  The 
real  difficulty  would  be  the  protection  of  the  converts.  Most 
probably  they  would  be  exposed  to  violence  and  death.  The 
infant  church  might  be  a  martyr  church  at  first  like  that  of 
Uganda,  but  that  would  not  prevent  the  spread  of  the  truth  or 
its  ultimate  triumph."  The  most  remarkable  thing  about  this 
report,  which  occupies  only  forty  pages,  is  its  prophetic  charac- 
ter, its  permanent  value  and  the  fact  that  it  touches  every 
phase  of  the  problem  still  before  us. 

The  immediate  result  of  General  Haig's  report  was  the  de- 
termination of  the  Church  Missionary  Society  to  leave  Aden 
and  Sheikh  Othman  to  Keith  Falconer  and  the  Free  Church 
of  Scotland,  while  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Harpur  went  to  Hodeidah  to 
try  the  possibilities  of  work  in  that  city.  There  the  skill  of  a 
Christian  physician  would  have  more  of  strategic  power  than 
in  Aden  itself  which  had  two  hospitals  under  government 
service.  Everything  was  hopeful  at  the  outset  and  the  people 
flocked  in  large  numbers  to  the  dispensary.  Evangelistic 
work  was  carried  on,  and  Dr.  Harpur  wrote  :  "I  try  to  read  of 
the  birth,  death  and  resurrection  of  Christ  including  Isaiah  liii., 
and  the  simplest  parables."  One  or  two  of  the  Arabs  became 
specially  interested  and  read  the  Bible  very  eagerly.  But  the 
Turkish  governor  found  objection  and  required  a  Turkish 
diploma  from  the  missionary,  or  to  have  his  diploma  acknowl- 
edged at  Constantinople.  Work  was  at  a  standstill.  Dr. 
Harpur  was  compelled  to  return  to  England  on  account  of 
severe  illness  and  Hodeidah  was  not  again  entered.  In  his 
letter  to  the  Church  Missionary  Intelligencer,  dated  April  12th, 
1887,  we  read  : 

"Should   the  way  be  closed   now,  we  trust  that  God  will 


326  ARABIA,   THE  CRADLE  Oh  ISLAM 

open  it  in  His  own  time,  and  whenever  that  time  may  be,  I 
want  now  to  say  that  since  I  came  here  my  great  desire  has 
been,  and  will  continue  to  be,  that  I  might  be  allowed  to  live 
and  work  among  the  people  of  Yemen.  God  knows  best, 
wherever  our  work  may  be.  Owing  to  the  uncertainty  that 
exists  about  my  diplomas  being  ratified,  and  being  in  the 
meantime  effectually  stopped  from  any  work,  it  seems  advisable 
for  us  to  go  back  to  Aden,  there  to  wait  until  we  get  directions 
from  the  Committee,  using  the  time  there  for  the  study  of  the  lan- 
guage. There  is  a  door  here,  as  far  as  the  people  themselves 
are  concerned,  and  I  trust  we  may  not  have  to  leave  these  poor 
people  who  have  not  rejected  the  gospel.  What  a  cause  there 
is  for  prayer  for  them  to  Him  who  is  King  of  Kings  and  Lord 
of  Lords." 

About  the  same  time,  a  remarkable  call  to  prayer  was  sent 
out  by  the  little  band  of  workers  in  South  Arabia,  who  were 
left  to  mourn  the  sudden  death  of  their  spiritual  leader,  Ion 
Keith  Falconer,  It  was  the  first  call  to  prayer  issued  for 
Arabia  and  it  did  not  remain  unheeded  : 

Prayer  for  the  Spread  of  the  Gospel  in  South  Arabia. 

•'  We  earnestly  invite  united  intercession  to  Almighty  God  for 
the  people  of  this  land,  that  He  will  open  doors  for  the  preach- 
ing of  the  gospel,  and  prepare  the  hearts  of  all  to  receive  it. 

We  trust  that  many  will  respond  to  this  request,  and  unite 
with  us  in  setting  apart  a  special  time  every  Tuesday  for  prayer 
for  the  above  object.     We  are,  yours  faithfully, 
(Signed.)        F.  I.  Harpur,  M.  B., 

Church  Missionary  Society. 
Alex.  Paterson,  M.  B.  C.  M., 

Free  Church  Mission. 
Matthew  Lochhead, 

Free  Church  Mission. 
Ibrahim  Abd  El  Messiah, 
Yemen,  S.  Arabia.  B,  and  F.  Bible  Society." 


THE  DAIVN  OF  MODERN  ARABIAN  MISSIONS         327 

While  the  Church  Missionary  Society  did  not  continue  work 
at  Hodeidah,  they  were  already  occupying  the  extreme  north- 
east corner  of  Arabia  and  had  begun  work  in  Bagdad,  the  old 
city  of  the  caliphs,  with  its  commanding  situation  on  the  Tigris, 
and  its  large,  Arab  population.  In  1882  Bagdad  was  occu- 
pied as  an  outpost  of  their  Persia  Mission  on  recommendation 
of  Dr.  Bruce.  Rev.  T.  R.  Hodgson  was  the  first  missionary 
there,  but  he  afterward  went  into  the  service  of  the  British  and 
Foreign  Bible  Society  and  greatly  extended  its  work  in  the  Per- 
sian Gulf.  He  was  succeeded  by  Dr.  Henry  Martyn  Sutton 
and  others.  The  mission  has  had  hard  struggles  with  the 
Turkish  officials  and  its  converts  were  compelled  to  flee.  The 
medical  work  has  had  a  vast  and  extensive  influence  in  all  the 
region  round  about,  and  at  present  the  mission-staff  is  larger 
than  ever  before  and  the  school  recently  opened  is  flourishing. 
Mosul  has  been  taken  over  from  the  American  Presbyterian 
Board  by  the  Church  Missionary  Society,  and  in  the  words  of 
one  of  their  missionaries,  "we  are  watching  for  an  oppor- 
tunity of  carrying  the  gospel  into  the  very  heart  of  Central 
Arabia,  where  the  independent  Prince  of  Nejd  holds  rule, 
across  whose  territory  runs  one  of  the  principal  routes  for 
pilgrims  to  Mecca." 

As  early  as  1856  Rev.  A.  Stern  made  missionary  journeys  to 
Sana,  Bagdad  and  other  parts  of  Arabia  to  visit  the  Jews  with 
the  gospel.  That  remarkable  missionary  to  the  Jews,  Joseph 
Wolff,  the  son  of  a  Bavarian  Rabbi  and  who  was  baptized  by 
a  Benedictine  monk  in  1812,  also  visited  the  Jews  of  Yemen 
and  Bagdad  in  his  wanderings.^ 

In  1884,  Mr.  William  Lethaby,  a  Methodist  lay-preacher 
from  England,  with  his  faithful  wife,  began  a  mission  among 
the  wild  Arabs  at  Kerak  in  the  mountains  of  Moab ;  so  popu- 
lous and  important  is  this  mountain  fortress  in  the  eyes  of  the 
nomads  that  they  call  it  El  Medina,  "  the  city."    This  pioneer 

'  "  The  Missionary  Expansion  since  the  Reformation." — Graham,  p.  19. 
"  Life  and  Letters  of  Rev.  A.  Stern." 


328  ARABIA,   THE  CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

effort,  after  some  years  of  struggle,  was  taken  up  by  the  Church 
Missionary  Society  in  connection  with  their  Palestine  mission. 
Mr.  Lethaby,  after  journeying  in  East  Arabia,  and  attempting 
in  vain  to  cross  the  Peninsula  from  Bahrein  westward  (1892), 
is  now  in  charge  of  the  Bible  Society's  depot  at  Aden. 

As  early  as  1886  the  North  Africa  Mission  attempted  to  reach 
the  Bedouin  tribes  of  Northern  Arabia  in  the  vicinity  of  Homs. 
Mr.  Samuel  Van  Tassel,  a  young  Hollander,  of  New  York, 
trained  at  Grattan  Guinnes's  Institute,  went  out  under  their 
direction  and  accompanied  a  Bedouin  chief  on  his  annual  mi- 
gration into  the  desert  in  1890.  He  found  good  opportunities 
among  the  nomads  for  gospel-work,  so  that  the  door  to  him 
seemed  ''wide-open,"  but  Turkish  official  jealousy  of  all  for- 
eigners who  have  dealings  with  the  Bedouin  tribes,  put  an  end 
to  his  work  and  compelled  its  abandonment.  His  experiences, 
however,  as  the  first  one  who  lived  and  worked  for  Christ 
among  the  nomads  in  the  black  tents  of  Kedar  is  valuable  for 
the  future.  The  door  of  access  was  not  closed  by  the  Bedouins 
themselves,  but  by  the  Turks.  Mr.  Van  Tassel  found  the 
Arabs  very  friendly,  and  willing  to  hear  the  Bible  read,  espe- 
cially the  Old  Testament.  He  found  none  of  the  fanaticism  of 
the  towns,  and  even  persuaded  the  sheikhs  to  rest  their  cara- 
vans on  the  Sabbath  day.  It  is  interesting  to  note  that  the 
North  Africa  Mission  was  led  to  enter  North  Arabia  through 
the  representations  of  General  Haig,  then  one  of  their  council. 
At  present  they  have  no  workers  in  Arabia,  although  that  name 
still  finds  a  place  in  their  reports  every  month  with  the  pathetic 
rehearsal :'  "Northern  Arabia  is  peopled  by  the  Bedouin  de- 
scendants of  Ishmael ;  they  are  not  bigoted  Moslems,  like  the 
Syrians,  but  willing  to  be  enlightened.  This  portion  of  the 
field  is  sadly  in  need  of  laborers." 

In  1898  the  Christian  and  Missionary  Alliance  of  New  York 

•  On  Van  Tassel's  work  and  experiences  see  "  North  Africa  "  (21  Lin- 
ton Road,  Barking,  London),  Vol.  for  1890,  pp.  4,  21,  43,  59,  78;  Vol. 
for  1 89 1,  pp.  2,  14,  27,  31  and  50. 


THE  DAU^'N  OF  MODERN  ARABIAN  MISSIONS         329 

again  called  attention  to  the  needs  of  Northern  Arabia  through 
Mr.  Forder,  formerly  of  the  Kerak  mission.  He  attempted  to 
enter  into  the  interior,  by  way  of  Damascus,  but  met  with  an 
accident,  which  prevented  the  undertaking. 

Before  sketching  the  lives  of  the  two  great  pioneer  mission- 
aries to  Arabia,  we  must  chronicle  the  appeal  for  the  dark 
peninsula  that  came  from  the  heart  of  the  Dark  Continent. 
Not  only  because  this  appeal  belongs  to  the  early  dawn  of 
Arabian  missions,  but  because  of  its  remarkable  character  and 
its  author.  Henry  Martyn  in  1811  wrote  at  Muscat,  "there 
is  a  promise  in  reserve  for  the  sons  of  Joktan ' '  ;  Alexander 
Mackay,  from  Uganda  in  1888,  took  up  the  strain,  and,  in 
closing  his  long  plea  for  a  mission  to  the  Arabs  of  Muscat, 
wrote  :  "  May  it  soon  be  said,  '  This  day  is  salvation  come  to 
this  house  forasmuch  as  he  also  is  a  son  of  Abraham.'  " 

This  plea,  written  only  two  years  before  Mackay's  death,  and 
dated,  August,  1888,  Usambiro,  Central  Africa,  is  a  great  mis- 
sionary document  for  two  reasons  ;  it  breathes  the  spirit  of 
Christianity  in  showing  love  to  one's  enemies  and  it  points  out 
the  real  remedy  against  the  slave-trade.  And  yet  Mackay  ac- 
companied his  carefully  written  article  with  this  modest  letter : 
"I  enclose  a  few  lines  on  a  subject  which  has  been  weighing 
on  my  mind  for  some  time.  I  shall  not  be  disappointed  if  you 
consign  them  to  the  waste-paper  basket,  and  shall  only  be  too 
glad  if,  on  a  better  representation  on  the  part  of  others,  the 
subject  be  taken  up  and  something  definite  be  done  for  these 
poor  Arabs,  whom  I  respect,  but  who  have  given  me  much 
trouble  in  years  past.  The  best  way  by  which  we  can  turn  the 
edge  of  their  opposition  and  convert  their  blasphemy  into  bless- 
ing is  to  do  our  utmost  for  their  salvation."  " 

In  this  article  Mackay  pleads  for  Arabia  for  Africa's  sake  and 
asks  that  "  Muscat,  which  is  in  more  senses  than  one  the  key 
to  Central  Africa,"  be  occupied  by  a  i-Zr^;/^  mission.     "I  do 

1  Mackay  of  Uganda,  by  his  sister,  (New  York,  1897)  PP-  4'7-430 
gives  the  article  in  full. 


330  /IRABU,   THE  CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

not  deny,"  he  writes,  "that  the  task  is  difficult;  and  the  men 
selected  for  work  in  Muscat  must  be  endowed  with  no  small 
measure  of  the  Spirit  of  Jesus,  besides  possessing  such  lin- 
guistic ability  as  to  be  able  to  reach  not  only  the  ears,  but  the 
very  hearts  of  men."  He  pleads  for  half  a  dozen  men,  the 
pick  of  the  English  universities,  to  make  the  venture  in  faith. 
His  continual  reason  for  the  crying  need  of  such  a  mission  is 
the  strong  influence  it  would  exert  in  Africa  because  of  the 
Arab  traders.  "It  is  almost  needless  to  say  that  the  outlook 
in  Africa  will  be  considerably  brightened  by  the  establishment 
of  a  mission  to  the  Arabs  in  Muscat."  "The  Arabs  have 
helped  us  often  and  have  hindered  us  likewise.  We  owe  them 
therefore  a  double  debt,  which,  I  can  see  no  more  affective 
way  of  paying  than  by  at  once  establishing  a  strong  mission  at 
their  very  headquarters — Muscat  itself." 

Mackay  was  not  unaware  of  the  great  difficulties  of  work 
among  Mohammedans  and  in  Arabia;  he  calls  it  "  a  gigantic 
project"  and  terms  Arabia  "the  cradle  of  Islam."  But  his 
faith  is  so  strong,  that  at  the  very  beginning  of  his  article  he 
quotes  the  remarkable  resolution  of  the  Church  Missionary 
Society  passed  on  May  ist,  1888,  regarding  work  for  ISIoham- 
medans.* 

The  effect  of  Mackay' s  pleading  was  that  the  veteran  Bishop 
French  took  up  the  challenge  and  laid  down  his  life  at  Muscat. 
That  life  has  "such  linguistic  capacity  as  to  be  able,"  ever- 
more "to  reach  not  only  the  ears  but  the  very  hearts  of  men  " 
in  a  way  even  far  above  the  thought  of  Alexander  Mackay  of 
Uganda. 

'  The  text  of  this  resolution  is  quoted  at  the  head  of  chapter  thirty-nine. 


XXXI 

ION    KEITH    FALCONER    AND   THE    ADEN   MISSION 

"  My  sword  I  give  to  him  tliat  shall  succeed  me  in  my  pilgrimage,  and 
my  courage  and  skill  to  him  that  can  get  it.  My  marks  and  scars  I  carry 
with  me  to  be  a  witness  for  me,  that  I  have  fought  His  battles,  who  now 
will  be  my  rewarder.  .  .  .  So  he  passed  over  and  all  the  trumpets 
sounded  for  him  on  the  other  side." — Bunyan^s  Pilgrim's  Progress. 
(Death  of  Valiant  for  Truth.) 

TON  KEITH  FALCONER  and  Thomas  Valpy  French,  both 
-^  laid  down  their  Hves  for  Christ  after  a  brief  period  of 
labor  in  the  land  they  so  dearly  loved.  Keith  Falconer  died 
at  the  age  of  thirty  after  having  spent  only  te?i  viojiths,  all-told, 
on  Arabian  soil ;  Bishop  French  was  sixty-six  years  old  when 
he  came  to  Muscat  and  lived  only  ninety-five  days  after  his 
arrival.     But  both  gave 

"  One  crowded  hour  of  glorious  life," 

to  the  cause  of  Christ  in  Arabia  and  left  behind  them  an  in- 
fluence, power  and  inspiration  which 

"  Is  worth  an  age  without  a  name." 

Ion  Grant  Neville  Keith  Falconer,'  the  third  son  of  the  late 
Earl  of  Kintore,  was  born  at  Edinburgh,  Scotland,  on  the  5th 
of  July,  1856.  At  thirteen  years  of  age  he  went  to  Harrow  to 
compete  for  an  entrance  scholarship  and  was  successful.  He 
was  not  a  commonplace  boy  either  in  his  ways  of  study  or 
thoughts  on  religion.     With  a  healthy  ambition  to  excel  and 

1  See  "Memorials  of  the  Hon.  Ion  Keith  Falconer." — Robert  Sinker 
(6th  Edition  Cambridge  1890)  and  Ion  Keith  Falconer,  Pioneer  in  Arabia 
by  Rev.  A.  T.  Pierson,  D.  D.  (Oct.  1897,  Missionary  Revieiv  of  the  World). 

331 


332  ARABIA,   THE  CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

yet  with  a  kindly  modesty  he  made  friends  of  those  whom  he 
surpassed  and  loved  those  who  were  his  inferiors.  Manliness, 
magnanimity,  piety  and  unselfishness,  rare  traits  in  a  lad,  were 
in  him  conspicuous.  He  loved  outdoor  sports  and  excelled  in 
athletics  as  well  as  in  his  studies.  At  twenty  he  was  President 
of  the  London  Bicycle  Club  and  at  twenty-two  the  champion 
racer  in  Great  Britain. 

One  paragraph  taken  from  the  close  of  one  of  his  letters 
gives  us  a  glimpse  of  the  boy  at  school  and  throws  light  on  his 
future  choice  of  a  profession.  It  is  dated  July  i6th,  1873  : 
"...  Charrington  sent  me  a  book  yesterday  which  I 
have  read.  It  is  called  Following  Fully  .  .  .  about  a 
man  who  works  among  the  cholera  people  in  London  so  hard 
that  he  at  last  succumbs  and  dies.  But  every  page  is  full  of 
Jesus  Christ,  so  that  I  liked  it.  And  I  like  Charrington  because 
he  is  quite  devoted  to  Him,  and  has  really  given  up  all  for  His 
glory.  I  must  go  and  do  the  same  soon  :  howl  don't  know." 
This  same  year  he  left  Harrow,  and,  after  spending  a  year  with 
a  tutor  exclusively  in  mathematics,  entered  Cambridge.  His 
intentions  were  at  first  to  compete  for  honors  in  mathematics 
but  after  careful  thought  he  changed  his  plans  and  began  to 
read  for  honors  in  the  Theological  Tripos. 

During  his  college  days  he  also  distinguished  himself  as  a 
master  in  his  two  favorite  pursuits,  bicycling  and  shorthand. 
On  the  later  subject  he  wrote  the  article  in  the  Encyclopedia 
Britannica.  He  had  a  fine  intellect,  tremendous  power  of  ap- 
plication and  a  genius  for  plodding.  His  knowledge  of 
Hebrew  was  extraordinary ;  he  wrote  post-cards  in  that  lan- 
guage to  his  professor  on  every  conceivable  subject,  and  trans- 
lated the  hymn,  "Lead  Kindly  Light"  as  a  pastime.  No 
wonder  that  he  received  the  highest  honor  in  that  language  that 
Cambridge  can  give  and  passed  with  ease  the  Semitic  lan- 
guages examination  at  the  close  of  his  course. 

But  in  all  his  studies  and  pastimes  he  did  not  cease  to  show 
that  he  w^as  first  of  all  a  Christian  and  had  the  missionary 


ION  KEITH  FALCONER  AND   THE   ADEN  MISSION      333 

spirit.  By  evangelistic  work  at  Barnwell  and  Mile-End,  alone 
and  with  his  friend,  Mr,  F.  N.  Charrington,  he  labored  to 
reach  the  poor  and  down-trodden.  For  the  work  in  London 
he  became  at  once  treasurer  and  contributor  of  $10,000  and  his 
work  at  Mile-End  Road  is  held  in  loving  remembrance  by  the 
present  workers.  Here  doubtless  it  was  that  his  thoughts  first 
turned  to  the  regions  beyond.  For  in  a  letter  dated  June  12th, 
1 88 1,  from  Stepney  Green,  he  writes  :  "  It  is  overwhelming  to 
think  of  the  vastness  of  the  harvest-field  when  compared  with 
the  indolence,  indifference  and  unwillingness  on  the  part  of 
most  so-called  Christians,  to  become,  even  in  a  moderate 
degree,  laborers  in  the  same.  I  take  the  rebuke  to  myself. 
.  To  enjoy  the  blessings  and  happiness  God  gives, 
and  never  to  stretch  out  a  helping  hand  to  the  poor  and  the 
wicked,  is  a  most  horrible  thing.  When  we  come  to  die,  it 
will  be  awful  for  us,  if  we  have  to  look  back  on  a  life  spent 
purely  on  self,  but,  believe  me,  if  we  are  to  spend  our  life 
otherwise,  we  must  make  up  our  minds  to  be  thought  '  odd  ' 
and  < eccentric'  and  'unsocial,'  and  to  be  sneered  at  and 
avoided.  .  .  .  The  usual  centre  is  Self,  the  proper  centre 
is  God.  If,  therefore,  one  lives  for  God,  one  is  out  of  centre 
or  eccentric,  with  regard  to  the  people  who  do  not." 

After  his  final  examination  at  Cambridge,  he  turned  his 
whole  attention  to  Arabic ;  why,  he  himself  knew  not,  except 
that  he  loved  the  language;  it  was  God's  plan  in  his  life.  To 
secure  special  advantages  he  went  first  to  Leipzig  in  October, 
1880,  and  afterward  to  Assiut,  Egypt.  The  Semitic  scholar 
was  becoming  an  Arab  and  fell  in  love  with  the  desert  even 
then.  He  wrote  from  Assiut,  after  some  months  of  study : 
"  I  am  meditating  a  camel-ride  in  the  desert.  I  mean  to  go 
from  here  to  Luxor  on  a  donkey,  camping  out  every  night,  and 
from  Luxor  to  Kossair,  on  the  Red  Sea,  on  a  dromedary. 
.  .  .  I  shall  learn  two  things  by  doing  this  journey, 
Arabic  and  cooking."  An  attack  of  fever  prevented  the 
journey,  and  Falconer  returned  to  England.     Even  there  his 


334  /IRABIA,   THE  CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

engrossing  study  was  Arabic,  in  which  he  was  now  reading 
such  difficult  books  as  the  Mo'allakat  and  Al  Hariri ;  as  he 
expressed  it,  "I  expect  to  peg  away  at  the  Arabic  dictionary 
till  my  last  day." 

In  March,  1884,  he  married  Miss  Gwendolen  Bevan;  they 
took  a  journey  to  Italy,  and  then  settled  at  Cambridge,  where 
Keith  Falconer  lectured  and  studied.  In  the  spring  of  1885 
he  published  his  Kalilah  and  Dimnah,  translated  from  the 
Syriac,  with  notes ;  a  lasting  monument  to  his  Semitic  scholar- 
ship and  an  example  of  his  wide  general  learning.^ 

Toward  the  end  of  the  year  1884  his  thoughts  first  began  to  be 
definitely  drawn  to  the  foreign  mission  field,  but  as  yet  without 
any  special  choice  of  field.  A  summary  of  the  papers  written 
on  Arabia,  by  General  Haig,  for  the  Church  Missionary 
Intelligencer  was  published  in  The  Christian,  in  February, 
1885,  and  fell  under  the  eyes  of  Keith  Falconer.  The  idea  of 
evangelizing  Arabia  took  hold  of  him  with  Divine  power.  His 
whole  soul  answered,  "Here  am  I,  send  me."  The  imme- 
diate outcome  was  a  request  for  an  interview  with  General 
Haig,  whom  he  accordingly  met  in  London  on  February  21st, 
1885,  "to  talk  about  Aden  and  Arabia."  He  determined  to 
go  to  Aden  and  see  the  field  for  himself.  Only  two  questions 
did  he  stop  to  consider :  First,  as  to  the  healthfulness  of  the 
place,  and  then  whether  he  should  go  out  as  a  free  lance  or 
should  associate  himself  more  or  less  closely  with  some  existing 
society.  Warmly  attached  to  the  Free  Church  of  Scotland 
from  his  childhood,  he  met  the  Foreign  Mission  Committee  of 
that  church  and  his  project  was  recognized  by  them.  On 
October  7th  he  left,  with  his  young  wife,  for  Aden,  and  arrived 
there  on  October  28th.  They  remained  until  March  6th  of  the 
following  spring. 

The  first  missionary  report  of  this  pioneer  in  South  Arabia 
indicates  what  he  thought  of  the  field ;  and  why  he  decided  to 

»  Kalilah  and  Dimnah,  or  The  Fables  of  Bidpai,  by  I.  G.  N.  Keith 
Falconer,  Cambridge,  1885. 


lOhl  KEITH  MLCOhlER  AND  THE  ADEN  MISSION     335 

make  Sheikh  Othman,  and  not  Aden,  the  centre  of  future 
work ;  it  also  sets  forth  the  methods  which  Keith  Falconer  pro- 
posed to  adopt  for  the  evangelization  of  Arabia.  The  follow- 
ing extracts  are  of  especial  interest : 

"The  population  of  Aden  is  made  up  of  (i)  Arabs,  all 
Moslems,  mostly  Sunnis  of  the  Shafii  sect ;  (2)  Africans, 
mostly  Somalis  who  are  all  Shafii  Moslems;  (3)  Jews;  (4) 
Natives  of  India,  mostly  Moslems,  the  rest  being  Hindus,  a  few 
Parsis,  and  a  few  Portuguese  from  Goa.  In  1872,  for  every 
five  Arabs  there  were  less  than  three  Somalis ;  but  I  am  told 
that  now  they  are  numerically  equal.  The  Arabs  and  Somalis 
together  make  up  the  great  bulk — about  four-fifths — of  the 
whole.  In  1872  the  Jews  numbered  1,435  ;  they  are  now 
reckoned  at  more  than  2,000.  The  Europeans,  the  garrison, 
and  camp-followers  number  about  3,500.  The  climate  of  Aden 
is,  for  the  tropics,  unusually  healthy.  The  port-surgeon,  who 
has  been  here  five  years,  assures  me  that  a  missionary  need 
have  no  fear  on  the  score  of  health.  This  is  due  to  the  scarcity 
of  rain  and  vegetation,  and  to  the  constant  sea-breezes.  The 
summer  heat  is  severe  and  depressing,  but  not  unhealthy. 
There  can  be  little  doubt  that  Aden,  from  the  fact  of  its  being 
a  British  possession,  from  its  geographical  position,  its  political 
relations  with  the  interior,  its  commerce  with  Yemen,  its 
healthy  climate,  and  its  mixed  Arab-Somali  population,  is, 
humanly  speaking  a  good  centre  for  Christian  work  among  the 
Moslems  of  Arabia  and  Africa, 

"The  next  question  is,  how  and  where  precisely  to  begin? 
My  own  notion  is  to  establish  a  school,  industrial  orphanage,  and 
medical  mission  at  Sheikh  Othman.  The  children  are  far 
more  hopeful  than  the  adults,  and  the  power  to  give  medical 
aid  would  be  not  only  very  useful  in  Sheikh  Othman,  but 
invaluable  in  pushing  into  the  interior.  There  are  numbers  of 
castaway  Somali  children  in  Aden  whose  parents  are  only  too 
willing  that  they  should  be  fed  and  cared  for  by  others.  These, 
as  well  as  orphans,  might  be  gathered  and  brought  up  in  the 


336  ARABIA,   THE  CRADLE  Oh  ISLAM 

faith  of  Christ,  nemine  contradicente.  It  would  be  necessary  to 
teach  the  children  to  work  with  their  hands,  and  I  think  that  a 
carpenter  or  craftsman  of  some  kind  from  home  or  from  India 
should  be  on  the  mission  staff.  But  the  chief  object  of  the 
institution  would  be  to  train  native  evangelists  and  teachers ; 
and  a  part  of  their  training  should  be  medical.  With  a  slight, 
rough-and-ready  knowledge  of  medicine  and  surgery,  they 
would  find  many  doors  open  to  them.  In  the  school,  reading 
by  means  of  the  Arabic  Bible  and  Christian  books,  writing,  and 
arithmetic  would  be  taught  to  all ;  and  English,  historical 
geography,  Euclid,  algebra,  and  natural  science  to  the  cleverer 
children.  A  native  teacher,  procurable  from  Syria  or  Egypt, 
would  be  very  valuable,  and  I  think  a  necessity  at  first.  If  it 
were  known  in  the  interior  that  a  competent  medical  man  and 
surgeon  resided  in  Sheikh  Othman,  the  Arabs  who  now  come 
to  Aden  for  advice  would  stop  short  at  our  mission-house ;  and 
the  surgeon  would  have  considerable  scope  both  in  Sheikh 
Othman,  El-Hautah,  and  the  little  country  villages,  not  to 
speak  of  the  opposite  African  country.  Of  course  the  treat- 
ment of  surgical  cases  would  involve  the  keeping  of  a  few 
beds.  The  medical  missionary  should  be  a  thoroughly  qualified 
man,  as  natives  often  delay  to  come  for  advice  until  disease  has 
become  serious  and  complicated.  The  port-surgeon  has  im- 
pressed this  upon  me  several  times.  It  should  be  mentioned 
that  the  native  assistant  at  the  Sheikh  Othman  dispensary  often 
finds  that  Arabs  come  to  Sheikh  Othman  to  be  treated,  and, 
deriving  no  benefit,  refuse  to  go  on  to  Aden,  and  return  home. 
The  institution  should  stand  in  a  cultivated  plot  or  garden. 
This  would  render  it  far  more  attractive,  and  would  greatly 
benefit  the  children.  It  would  be  possible  to  arrange  for  this 
in  Sheikh  Othman,  where  there  is  plenty  of  water,  and  the  soil 
is  good ;  but  not  in  Aden,  where  almost  utter  barrenness  is 
everywhere  found. 

"  My  reasons,  then,  for  perferring  Sheikh  Othman  are: 

"  I.     We  should  not  be  seriously  competing  with  govern- 


ION  KEITH  FALCONER  AND   THE  ADEN  MISSION      337 

ment  institutions.  In  fact,  I  am  told  that  the  government 
would  be  glad  to  be  relieved  of  the  necessity  of  keeping  up  a 
dispensary  at  Sheikh  Othman. 

"  2.  The  climate  is  fresher  and  less  enervating  than  that  of 
Aden.  From  its  position  it  has  the  benefit  of  any  sea-breeze 
which  may  blow,  and  the  soil  absorbs  heat  without  giving  it 
out  again.  On  the  other  hand,  in  Aden,  the  high,  black, 
cinder-like  rocks  often  obstruct  the  breeze,  store  heat  in  the 
day,  and  give  it  out  at  night.  Thus  the  nights  in  Sheikh 
Othman  are  markedly  cooler  than  in  Aden. 

"3.  There  is  abundance  of  water,  and  the  soil  is  capable 
of  cultivation — a  fact  proved  by  the  two  fine  private  gardens 
there,  not  to  speak  of  the  government  garden.  But  at  Aden 
the  soil  is  utterly  barren,  and  all  water  must  be  paid  for.  It  is 
either  condensed,  or  procured  by  an  aqueduct,  or  from  a  well 
sunk  1 20  feet  in  the  solid  rock.  The  water  from  the  latter  is 
quite  sweet,  and  sometimes  handed  round  after  dinner  in  wine- 
glasses ! 

"4.  I  am  told  on  the  best  authority  that  it  would  be  very 
difficult  to  get  a  suitable  site  in  Aden,  whereas  there  are  plenty 
in  Sheikh  Othman.  Besides  any  number  of  building  sites,  two 
very  large  garden  sites  are  vacant.  The  latter  I  have  inspected, 
and  the  one  I  am  recommended  to  take  as  having  the  best  soil 
is  admirably  situated  between  the  old  village  and  the  new  set- 
tlement. It  occupies  the  space  between  them.  I  can  have  the 
whole  or  the  half  of  it  granted  to  me  at  a  nominal  quit-rent. 

"5.  Sheikh  Othman  is  eight  miles  on  the  road  to  the  in- 
terior, and  so  in  closer  contact  with  the  tribes,  and  removed 
from  the  influence  of  the  bad  and  unchristian  example  set  by 
so  many  Europeans. 

"On  the  other  hand,  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the 
population  of  Sheikh  Othman — about  6,500 — is  comparatively 
small,  though  likely  to  increase  somewhat ;  and  that  it  is  very 
shifting,  not  more  than  some  1,500  being  permanently  resident. 
The  last  objection,  however,  applies  to  Aden  as  well." 


338  y^RABU,   THE  CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

In  another  portion  of  the  same  report,  after  telling  of  the  im- 
portance of  Aden  as  a  missionary  centre,  he  emphasizes  the 
fact  that  "  More  than  a  quarter  of  a  million  camels,  with  their 
drivers,  enter  and  leave  Aden  yearly  with  produce  from  all 
parts  of  Yemen.  The  great  majority  of  these  pass  through 
Sheikh  Othman,  where  they  make  a  halt  of  several  hours  on 
the  journey  to  Aden."  No  one  acquainted  with  Aden  and  its 
vicinity  and  reading  Keith  Falconer's  letters  can  fail  to  be 
struck  with  the  fact  that  from  the  outset  he  had  his  plans  made 
for  the  interior,  and  that  Sheikh  Othman  was  only  the  first 
stage  which  he  intended  to  use  as  a  base  of  operations.  He 
wrote  to  General  Haig  about  the  same  time  as  the  date  of  his 
report:  "I  have  made  up  my  mind  that  the  right  place  for 
me  to  settle  at  is  Sheikh  Othman,  not  Aden,  This  will  leave 
Aden  and  Steamer  Point  open  to  the  Church  Missionary  So- 
ciety. Though  I  do  not  think  that  a  medical  missionary  would 
have  much  scope  in  Aden,  I  think  that  a  Bible  and  tract-room 
and  preaching-hall  might  be  started  there.  ...  I  hope  to 
visit  Lahej  soon,  but  fear  I  shall  be  unable  to  go  to  Sana.  I 
should  not  know  where  to  leave  my  wife.  When  I  have  a  col- 
league at  Sheikh  Othman  with  a  wife,  the  two  ladies  can  be 
together  while  the  husbands  go  to  Sana  and  elsewhere.  If  the 
Church  Missionary  Society  missionaries  come  here  I  trust  we 
shall  find  ways  and  means  of  cooperating  and  helping  one  an- 
other." 

In  February,  1886,  Keith  Falconer  went  with  a  Scotch  mili- 
tary doctor  to  Lahej,  the  first  large  village  beyond  Sheikh 
Othman,  in  the  middle  of  an  oasis,  and  then  governed  by  an 
independent  "Sultan."  In  March,  having  completed  his  pre- 
liminary survey  of  the  field  and  decided  on  choice  of  a  loca- 
tion, he  sailed  for  England,  not  to  tarry  there,  but  to  prepare 
for  the  final  exodus  to  Arabia.  "For,"  says  his  biographer, 
"the  soldier  of  the  Cross  had  counted  the  cost,  had  weighed 
with  the  utmost  care  every  risk  and  had  taken  his  final  resolve. 
The  manner  in  which  he  told  his  friends  this  was  very  charac- 


ION  KEITH  FALCONER  AND   THE  ADEN  MISSION      339 

teristic  of  the  man  .  .  .  who  goes  forth  to  the  fight  ready 
to  spend  and  be  spent  in  the  cause  of  Christ."  In  May  he  met 
the  General  Assembly  of  the  Free  Church  and  made  his 
fartious  address  on  Mohammedanism  and  missions  to  Moham- 
medans. In  order  to  begin  the  work  at  Aden,  a  second  mis- 
sionary, a  medical  man,  was  desired.  Although  the  man  was 
not  yet  found,  Keith  Falconer  made  the  generous  proposal  to 
pay  the  sum  of  ;^300  ($1,500)  annually  to  the  Free  Church 
for  the  new  missionary's  salary.  He  had  already  offered  to 
pay  the  expenses  of  himself  and  his  wife,  and  had  agreed  to 
take  upon  himself  the  whole  cost  of  the  building  of  the  mission- 
house.  He  laid  on  the  missionary  altar  not  only  his  talent  of 
learning  but  that  of  money,  and  was  in  truth  "an  honorary 
missionary." 

The  time  between  Keith  Falconer's  arrival  in  England  and 
his  return  to  Arabia  was  crowded  full  of  life  and  activity,  but 
only  the  most  important  events  can  be  narrated.  He  received 
the  gratifying  but  altogether  unexpected  offer  of  the  post  of 
Lord  Almoner's  professor  of  Arabic  at  Cambridge,  which  he 
accepted,  becoming  the  successor  of  Edward  H.  Palmer  and 
Robertson  Smith.  He  prepared  the  lectures  required,  choosing 
for  his  subject  "The  Pilgrimage  to  Mecca."  He  read  all  the 
books  on  the  subject  in  many  languages,  even  learning  the 
Dutch  grammar  in  order  to  understand  a  work  in  that  language. 
He  visited  hospitals  in  search  of  an  associate  for  Arabia.  He 
selected  his  library  and  furniture  to  take  to  Aden  and  disposed 
of  his  house-lease.  He  acted  as  judge  at  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association  Cycling  Club  races  in  Cambridge.  He 
went  to  Glasgow  to  meet  Dr.  Stewart  Cowen  who  was  appointed 
his  co-worker  to  Arabia,  He  tried  to  insure  his  life  in  favor 
of  the  mission-work  at  Mile-End ;  but  while  the  insurance 
office  declared  him  "First-Class,"  they  refused  to  grant  the 
policy  when  they  heard  of  his  proposed  place  of  residence. 
He  gave  several  farewell  addresses  in  Scotland  and  delivered 
his  Cambridge  lectures  just  on  the  eve  of  leaving  for  Arabia. 


340  ARABU,   THE   CRADLE   OF  ISLAM 

All  this  work  was  crowded  into  six  montlis'  time  by  the  man 
who,  like  Napoleon,  did  not  have  the  word  impossible  in  his 
vocabulary.  How  well  the  work  was  done  is  proved  by  his  lec- 
tures, the  article  in  the  Encyclopedia  and  his  farewell  addresses. 
What  could  be  finer  and  stronger  than  these  last  sentences 
from  his  farewell  address  at  Glasgow  which  still  ring  with 
power : 

"  We  have  a  great  and  imposing  war-office,  but  a  very  small 
army  .  .  .  while  vast  continents  are  shrouded  in  almost 
utter  darkness,  and  hundreds  of  millions  suffer  the  horrors  of 
heathenism  or  of  Islam,  the  burden  of  proof  lies  upon  you  to 
show  that  the  circumstances  in  which  God  has  placed  you 
were  meant  by  Him  to  keep  out  of  the  foreign  mission  field." 

Dr.  Cowen  arrived  at  Aden  on  December  7th,  1886,  and  Keith 
Falconer  a  day  later,  by  the  Austrian  steamship  "Berenice." 
He  wrote,  "We  stopped  at  Jiddah,  but  to  my  great  disap- 
pointment quarantine  prevented  me  from  going  on  shore.  I 
gazed  long  at  .the  hills  which  hid  Mecca  from  us." 

Mrs.  Keith  Falconer  arrived  a  fortnight  later.  But  the  new 
missionaries  were  unfortunate  at  the  outset  in  obtaining  a  suit- 
able dwelling.  The  stone  bungalow,  which  they  expected  to 
occupy  at  Sheikh  Othman  until  a  mission-house  was  built, 
could  not  be  rented  ;  after  considerable  difficulty  they  man- 
aged to  secure  a  large  native  hut,  about  forty  feet  square, 
which,  with  certain  changes,  appeared  suitable  for  the  emer- 
gency. A  shed,  erected  by  Keith  Falconer,  served  them  as  a 
dispensary,  and  on  January  nth,  he  wrote,  "Our  temporary 
quarters  are  very  comfortable  and  the  books  look  very  nice." 
Everything  went  well  for  a  time  and  arrangements  were  made 
to  begin  building  the  mission-house.  A  tour  was  taken  to  Bir 
Achmed  and  the  gospel  was  preached  every  day  by  word  and 
work,  although  some  of  the  party  were  down  with  fever  nearly 
all  the  time. 

Early  in  February,  1887,  they  were  cheered  by  the  visit  of 
General  Haig,  returning  from  his  Yemen  journey ;  but  very 


ION  KEITH  FALCONER  AND   THE   ADEN  MISSION      341 

soon  after  things  began  for  the  first  time  to  be  clouded  over. 
On  February  loth,  returning  from  a  tour  inland,  Keith  Fal- 
coner was  seized  with  a  high  fever  which  continued  for  three 
days  and  then  began  to  abate,  but  did  not  leave  him  entirely. 
Mrs.  Keith  Falconer  also  had  a  severe  attack  of  fever,  and 
both  went  for  a  change  to  Steamer  Point  for  three  weeks,  after 
which  they  returned  to  their  "hut"  at  Sheikh  Othman.  On 
May  I  St,  Keith  Falconer  wrote  to  his  mother,  "  You  will  be 
sorry  to  hear  that  I  have  been  down  with  yet  another  attack 
.  .  .  this  makes  my  seventh  attack.  This  rather  miserable 
shanty,  in  which  we  are  compelled  to  live,  is  largely  the  cause 
of  our  fevers  ...  we  expect  to  begin  living  in  the  new 
house  about  June  ist,  though  it  will  not  be  finished  then." 
But  this  letter  did  not  reach  her  until  after  the  telegram  had 
told  the  news  that  God  had  called  His  servant  to  Himself. 
On  Tuesday,  ]\lay  loth,  after  continued  fevers  and  two  rest- 
less nights,  he  went  to  sleep,  and  in  the  morning  . 
"  one  glance  told  all.  He  was  lying  on  his  back  with  eyes 
half  open.  The  whole  attitude  and  expression  indicated  a 
sudden  and  painless  end,  as  if  it  had  taken  place  during  sleep, 
there  being  no  indication  whatever  of  his  having  tried  to  move 
or  speak."  On  the  evening  of  the  next  day  he  was  laid  to 
rest,  "  In  the  cemetery  at  Aden  by  British  officers  and  soldiers 
— fitting  burial  for  a  soldier  of  Chirist,  who,  with  armor  on 
and  courage  undaunted,  fell  with  face  to  the  foe.  The  martyr 
of  Aden  had  entered  God's  Eden.  And  so  Great  Britain  made 
her  first  offering — a  costly  sacrifice — to  Arabia's  evangeli- 
zation." 

Keith  Falconer  did  not  live  long,  but  he  lived  long  enough 
to  do  what  he  had  purposed,  (and  to  do  it  after  God's  plan  not 
his  own)  "to  call  attention  to  Arabia.''''  The  workman  fell  but 
the  work  did  not  cease.  The  Free  Church  asked  for  one  vol- 
unteer to  step  into  his  place,  and  thirteen  of  the  graduating 
class  of  New  College  responded.  By  the  story  of  Keith  Fal- 
coner's life  ten  thousand  lives  have  been  spiritually  quickened 


342  /fR/IBU,   THE  CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

to  think  of  the  foreign  field  and  its  claims.  He,  "  being  dead, 
yet  speaketh,"  and  will  continue  to  speak  until  Arabia  is  evan- 
gelized. Every  future  missionary  to  Arabia  and  every  friend 
of  missions  who  reads  Falconer's  life  will  approve  the  appro- 
priateness of  the  simple  inscription  on  his  grave  at  Aden  : 

TO 
THE  DEAR    MEMORY  OF 

THE    HON.  ION  KEITH   FALCONER, 

THIRD   SON   OF 

THE  EARL  AND   COUNTESS  OF  KINTORE, 

WHO   ENTERED   INTO   REST 

AT  SHEIKH  OTHMAN,  MAY  II,  1887, 

AGED    30    YEARS. 

"  If  any  man  serve  Me,  let  him  follow  Me ;  and,  where  I  am,  there 
shall  also  My  servant  be  :  if  any  man  serve  Me,  him  will  My  Father 
honor." 

The  influence  of  Keith  Falconer's  consecration  was  widely 
felt  at  the  time  of  his  death  and  has  been  felt  ever  since.  His 
biography  has  become  a  missionary  classic,  and  has  passed 
through  six  editions.  The  Presbytery  of  the  Scotch  Church  in 
Kafraria,  South  Africa,  resolved  in  October,  1887,  that  "  steps 
be  taken  to  prepare  a  memoir  of  the  late  Hon.  Ion  Keith  Fal- 
coner, to  be  printed  in  Kafir  as  a  tract  for  circulation  among 
the  native  congregations  with  a  view  to  impress  them  with  an 
example  of  self-sacrifice." 

The  mission  at  Sheikh  Othman  was  continued.  Through 
the  generosity  of  Keith  Falconer's  mother  and  widow  stipends 
for  two  missionaries  were  guaranteed.  Dr.  Cowen  returned  to 
England,  but  Rev.  W.  R.  W.  Gardner  and  Dr.  Alexander 
Patterson  came  to  the  field.  For  a  time  Mr.  Matthew  Loch- 
head,  from  the  mission  among  the  Kabyles  in  Morocco,  also 
joined  them.  A  school  for  rescued  slaves  was  started,  but  the 
children's  health  failing  they  were  transferred  to  Lovedale  in 


ION  KEITH  FALCONER  AND   THE   ADEN  MISSION      343 

Africa.  In  1893,  Rev.  J.  C.  Young,  M.  D.,  was  sent  out  as  a 
medical  missionary  to  enforce  the  Rev.  Mr.  Gardner  who  with 
Mrs.  Gardner  were  then  alone  ;  Dr.  Paterson  and  Mr.  Loch- 
head  having  left  for  reasons  of  health.  Rev.  and  Mrs.  Gard- 
ner went  to  Cairo  in  1895,  and  the  following  year  Dr.  Young 
was  joined  by  Dr.  and  Mrs.  W.  D.  Miller,  In  1898  Mrs. 
Miller  died,  and  Dr.  Miller  returned  home.  At  present  the 
mission  staff  consists  of  Rev.  Dr.  Young  and  Dr.  Morris,  who 
joined  the  mission  in  1898. 

Despite  these  frequent  changes  and  short  periods  of  service, 
the  Keith  Falconer  mission  has  not  been  at  a  standstill.  Each 
of  the  faithful  band  used  their  special  talent  and  individuality 
in  removing  somewhat  from  the  vast  mountain  of  Moslem 
prejudice  and  opposition  "  to  make  straight  in  the  desert  a 
highway  for  our  God."  The  immediate  interior  around  Aden 
has  been  frequently  visited  ;  the  mission  dispensary  is  known 
for  hundreds  of  miles  beyond  Sheikh  Othman.  We  record 
with  regret  that  Keith  Falconer's  wish  to  go  to  Sana  remains 
unfulfilled  on  the  part  of  the  mission.  A  school  for  boys  has 
been  started,  and  the  small  "shanty"  dispensary  has  grown 
into  a  fully  equipped  mission  hospital,  which  treated  over 
17,800  out-patients  in  1898.  A  much  needed  and  most  hope- 
ful work  among  the  soldiers  is  carried  on  in  Steamer  Point 
(Aden)  and  the  Keith  Falconer  Memorial  Church  is  filled 
every  Sabbath  with  those  who  love  to  hear  the  old  gospel. 


XXXII 

BISHOP   FRENCH   THE   VETERAN    MISSIONARY   TO   MUSCAT 

TF  it  was  Keith  Falconer's  life  and  death  that  sealed  the  mis- 
sionary  love  of  the  church  to  Aden,  it  was  the  death  of 
Thomas  Valpy  French '  that  turned  many  eyes  to  Muscat, 
Bishop  French  it  was  who  signalized  the  completion  of  his 
fortieth  year  of  missionary  service  by  attacking,  single  handed, 
the  seemingly  impregnable  fortress  of  Islam  in  Oman.  He  is 
called  by  Eugene  Stock,  "  the  most  distinguished  of  all  Church 
Missionary  Society  missionaries." 

We  are  tempted  to  describe  this  man's  early  mission  work  in 
founding  the  Agra  college  and  protecting  the  native  Christians 
in  the  mutiny ;  his  pioneer  work  in  Derajat ;  his  founding  of 
the  St.  John  Divinity  School  at  Lahore ;  his  controversies  with 
the  Mohammedans ;  and  his  manifold  labors  as  the  first 
Bishop  of  Lahore,  but  we  can  only  chronicle  here  the  closing 
years  of  his  useful  life.  After  forty  years  of  "labors  abun- 
dant" and  "journeyiugs  oft"  he  resigned  his  bishopric  to 
travel  among  Arabic-speaking  people  and  learn  more  of  their 
language.  He  visited  the  Holy  Land,  Armenia,  Bagdad  and 
Tunis,  everywhere  diligently  seeking  to  learn  Arabic,  and  per- 
suade the  Moslems  of  the  truth  of  Christianity.  He  became, 
as  some  one  expressed  it,  a  "  Christian  fakir"  for  the  sake  of  " 
the  gospel  and  desired  to  end  his  life  as  he  began  it,  in  pioneer 
missionary-work. 

As  we  have  said  it  was  Mackay  of  Uganda  who  riveted  the 
bishop's    attention   to   Muscat.     Such   a  plea  from  such  lips 

1  Life  and  Correspondence  of  T.  V.  French,  First  Bishop  of  Lahore,  by 
Rev.  Robert  Birks,  (Murray,  London,  1895). 

344 


BISHOP  FRENCH    THE    VETERAN  MISSIONARY        345 

could  not  but  touch  the  heart  of  such  a  veteran.  No  one  else 
came  forward,  so  how  could  he  refuse  ?  He  knew  that  age 
and  infirmities  were  coming  upon  him,  but  he  wanted  to  die  a 
missionary  to  Mohammedans.  He  had,  to  use  his  own  words, 
"an  inexpressible  desire  "  to  preach  to  the  Arabs.  He  was 
willing  to  begin  the  work  on  his  own  account  with  the  hope 
that  the  Church  Missionary  Society  would  take  it  up. 

What  was  the  character  of  this  lion-heart  who  dared  to  lift 
his  grey  head  high  and  respond  a/oiie,  to  Mackay's  call  for 
"  half  a  dozen  men,  the  pick  of  the  English  Universities  to 
make  the  venture  in  faith  "  ?  One  who  was  his  friend  and 
fellow-missionary  for  many  years  wrote  :  "To  live  with  him 
was  to  drink  in  an  atmosphere  that  was  spiritually  bracing.  As 
the  air  of  the  Engadine  is  to  the  body,  so  was  his  intimacy  to 
the  soul.  It  was  an  education  to  be  with  him.  To  acquire 
anything  approaching  his  sense  of  duty  was  alone  worth  a  visit 
to  India.  He  demanded  implicit  obedience  from  those  whom 
he  directed,  and  often  the  cost  was  considerable.  If  any  were 
unwilling  to  face  a  risk,  he  fell  grievously  in  the  bishop's  esti- 
mation. There  was  nothing  that  he  thought  a  man  should  not 
yield — home,  or  wife,  or  health — if  God's  call  was  apparent. 
But  then  every  one  knew  that  he  only  asked  of  them  what  he 
himself  had  done,  and  was  always  doing.  How  shall  I  speak 
of  his  unworldliness  ?  India  is  full  of  tales  of  this ;  of  acts 
that  often  led  to  somewhat  humorous  results.  There  was  no  in 
season  or  out  of  season  with  him.  He  was  always  on  his  Mas- 
ter's business.  No  biography,  it  is  said,  will  be  complete  that 
does  not  show  this  side  of  his  character.  To  outsiders  fre- 
quently it  seemed  to  lead  him  into  inconsistencies.  It  did  not 
seem  incongruous  for  him  to  turn  to  the  lady  next  to  him,  at  a 
large  luncheon  party,  and  begin  to  discuss  the  heavenly  Bride 
of  Christ ;  neither  was  it  strange  when  hymn-books  were  dis- 
tributed at  a  large  reception  he  held  at  Government  House 
(kindly  lent  for  the  bishop's  sojourn  there),  and  the  evening 
party  was  closed  with  hymns  and  prayer." 


346  /1RABIA,    THE   CRADLE  Oh  ISLAM 

Rev.  Robert  Clark  of  the  Punjab  Church  Missionary  So- 
ciety, testifies  :  "When  he  first  began  his  work  in  Agra,  he 
studied  about  sixteen  hours  a  day.  He  taught  in  his  school, 
he  preached  in  the  bazaars,  he  instructed  inquirers  for  baptism, 
he  prepared  catechists  for  ordination,  he  was  engaged  in  writ- 
ing books,  at  the  same  time  that  he  was  learning  Arabic,  Per- 
sian, Urdu,  Sanscrit,  and  Hindi  with  munshis.  Such  excel- 
lence few  can  attain  to,  because  few  can  safely  follow  in  his 
steps  in  this  respect.  But  all  can  copy  his  example  of  prayer- 
ful labor.  When  he  spent  his  holidays  in  travels  and  in  preach- 
ing excursions  far  and  near,  he  showed  us  how  to  spend  every 
hour  of  relaxation  in  the  most  profitable  way.  When  he  re- 
fused to  possess  even  a  very  ordinary  conveyance,  because  he 
thought  that  a  missionary  should  go  on  foot,  and  declined  to  use 
anything  but  the  most  common  furniture  for  his  house,  he  set 
us  an  example  of  self-abnegation,  and  showed  us  what,  in  his 
opinion,  should  be  the  attitude  of  the  missionary  before  the 
world.  When  he  spent  his  earliest  mornings  with  God,  with 
his  Hebrew,  Bible  and  Greek  Testament  before  him,  he  often 
invited  some  friend  to  sit  by  him  to  share  with  him  the  rich 
thoughts  which  the  Word  of  God  suggested  to  his  mind." 

This  was  the  man  who  in  solitary  loneliness,  without  one 
friend  to  stand  at  his  side,  planted  and  upheld  till  death  the 
banner  of  the  cross  where  it  had  never  been  planted  before. 
In  the  hotest  season  of  the  year,  with  a  little  tent  and  two 
servants  he  was  preparing  to  push  inland  when  death  interposed 
and  gave  rest  to  this  veteran  of  sixty-six  years.  "We  fools 
accounted  his  life  madness,  but  he  is  numbered  among  the 
children  of  God  and  his  lot  is  among  the  saints."  (Wisdom 
of  Solomon  v.  4,  5.)  Only  Judas  can  "have  indignation 
saying  to  what  purpose  is  this  waste?"  This  broken  box  of 
exceeding  precious  ointment  has  given  fragrance  to  the  whole 
world. 

We  will  let  Bishop  French  tell  his  own  brief  story  of  the 
work  at  Muscat,  beginning  with  the  time  when  we  travelled  to- 


BISHOP  FRENCH    THE   VETERAN  MISSIONARY        347 

gether  down  the  Red  Sea 'both  in  quest  of  God's  plan  for  us  in 
Arabia.^ 

Near  Aden,  Jan.  22d,  i8gi. 

"Boisterous  winds  and  turbulent  seas  have  racked  ray  brain 
sorely,  and  I  have  seldom  had  such  torture  in  this  line.  But 
we  are  close  to  the  Straits  of  Bab-el-Mandeb,  and  hope  to  reach 
Aden  some  twelve  hours  hence.  I  should  have  been  sorry  to 
miss  Hodeidah,  where  I  had  a  long  day  (spite  of  difficulty  of 
reaching  it  by  sambuca  or  small  boat  of  broad  and  heavy 
build),  returning  to  ship  in  the  evening.  I  left  my  friends, 
Maitland  and  a  young  American  missionary,  and  made  my 
way  straight  out  through  a  gate  of  one  of  the  stout  city  walls, 
into  the  country  beyond,  where  are  palm-groves  and  some  fairly 
imposing  stuccoed  country-houses  of  merchants  and  men  of 
rank.  Under  an  arcade  (as  the  sun  was  to  be  feared)  I  got  a 
little  congregation  together,  some  learned,  others  unlearned, 
and  addressed  them  for  over  an  hour,  eliciting  the  opposition 
of  one  or  two  of  the  uluma,  or  educated  men.  For  the  first 
time  in  this  part  of  my  journey,  my  mouth  seemed  a  little 
opened  and  heart  enlarged  to  witness  for  Christ,  and  a  few 
seemed  really  struck  and  interested.  I  tried  to  get  entrance 
into  a  mosque  or  two,  as  of  old  time  into  Afghan  mosques  with 
Gordon  and  others,  but  failed  to  find  the  proper  Imams 
within.  I  secured  the  lower  steps  of  a  flight  of  steps  leading 
up  to  the  private  residence  of  a  high  Turkish  officer,  in  rich 
uniform,  a  general  of  army  here,  not  knowing  whose  steps  I 
was  occupying.  However,  the  old  gentleman  came  down  (as 
a  Roman  centurion  in  old  time  might  have  done)  and  took  his 
seat,  with  a  few  others,  on  his  own  doorstep,  and  listened 
with  singular  docility  and  thankfulness,  and  begged  my  bless- 
ing on  his  office,  and  his  fulfillment  of  its  arduous  duties. 
After  first  leave-taking,  he  sent  down  to  me  a  beautiful  walking- 
stick  of  lemon-wood,  so  I  had  to  mount  the  steps  to  express 

*  The  letters  appeared  in  the  Church  Missionary  Intelligencer,  for  May 
and  July,  1 891. 


348  ARABIA,    THE  CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

my  gratitude  and  acknowledgment  of  his  singular  courtesy 
and  friendship.  Then  came  a  still  more  enthusiastic  and 
affectionate  leave-taking  still,  and  warm  kissing  of  hands,  to 
Maitland's  astonishment.  I  certainly  never  experienced  such 
kindness  and  friendship  from  any  Turkish  official  before  in  any 
quarter.  I  trust  the  message  may  have  struck  his  heart. 
Anyhow,  he  gladly  accepted  a  copy  of  the  whole  Bible — this 
is  one  of  the  most  bigoted  of  Arab  cities. 

"  There  was  an  excellent  colporteur  here  this  week,  of  the 
Bible  Society,  Stephanos,  a  Jewish  convert,  I  believe,  and  ex- 
cellent Arabic  scholar.  The  Wall,  or  viceroy  of  the  city,  has 
forbidden  his  carrying  Arabic  Bibles  into  the  interior,  though 
the  Hebrew  ones  for  the  Jews  at  Sennaa  are  passed,  some  six 
days,  into  the  mountains.  In  Jidda  itself,  I  had  some  small 
measure  of  encouragement,  but  not  nearly  so  much  as  in 
Hodeidah,  which  has  now  outstripped  Mocha  as  a  thriving 
trade  centre  in  those  parts," 

Muscat,  Gulf  of  Oman, 

February  ijth,i8gi. 

"I  arrived  here  on  Sunday  last  with  Mr.  Maitland,  of  the 
Cambridge  Delhi  Mission,  whom  I  met  in  Egypt,  and  who 
spends  a  few  weeks  for  his  health's  sake  with  me,  perhaps  until 
Easter.  We  did  not  like  throwing  ourselves  on  the  British 
Consul  here,  as  we  thought  it  might  embarrass  him  to  entertain 
Christian  missionaries  on  their  first  arrival  here ;  and  we  had 
very  great  difficulty  in  finding  even  the  meanest  quarters  for 
the  first  day  or  two,  but  are  now  in  quarters  in  an  adjoining 
village,  more  tolerable  as  regards  necessary  comforts,  belong- 
ing to  the  American  Consul,  who  is  agent  for  a  new  York 
house  of  business.  I  have  written  to  India  for  a  Swiss-cottage 
tent,  as  a  resource  in  case  of  no  possible  residence  being 
available  here,  or  anything  approaching  even  the  English  vil- 
lage public-house,  or  Persian  caravanserai.  In  the  adjoining 
hills  such  a  tent  might  give  shelter  during  the  hot  weather,  if 
the  Arabs  will  tolerate  the  presence  of  a  Christian  missionary. 


BISHOP  FRENCH   THE   VETERAN  MISSIONARY        349 

"  Of  possibilities  of  entrance  of  a  mission,  I  feel  it  would  be 
premature  to  speak  yet.  We  are  pushing  on  our  Arabic 
studies,  and  I  am  glad  to  find  how  much  more  intelligible  my 
Arab  teaching  is  than  in  Tunis  and  Egypt.  I  hope  soon  to 
find  a  Sheikh  of  some  learning,  to  carry  on  translations  in 
Arabic  under  his  guidance,  if  life  and  health  be  spared.  I  feel 
most  thankful  to  feel  myself  again  in  a  definite  temporary 
centre,  at  least  of  missionary  effort.  '  Patience  and  long-suf- 
fering with  joyfulness '  I  would  humbly  and  heartily  desire  to 
cultivate,  as  most  appropriate  to  my  present  condition  and  cir- 
cumstances. The  British  Consul,  a  very  polite  and  courteous 
and  high  principled  man,  is  hopeless  as  to  any  effect  being 
produced  on  the  Oman  Arabs,  and  feels  his  position  precludes 
him  from  making  common  cause  with  any  effort  for  making 
proselytes  among  them.  So  when  Maitland  goes  I  shall  be 
pretty  lonely  here,  not  for  the  first  time,  however,  and  I  only 
pray  that  the  loneliness  may  help  me  to  realize  more  fully  the 
blessed  Presence  which  fills,  strengthens,  animates,  and  sup- 
ports." 

His  last  letter  written  from  Muscat  to  the  Church  Missionary 
Society  is  dated  April  24th,  1891.  A  portion  of  it  is  as  fol- 
lows : 

"  Patience  here,  as  elsewhere  (and  more  than  in  most  scenes 
I  have  visited),  is  a  great  prerequisite.  I  still  live  alone  in  a 
borrowed  house,  a  spare  one  belonging  to  the  American  Consul 
here,  and,  rough  as  it  is,  it  is  amply  sufficient  for  a  missionary, 
and  is  in  the  heart  of  the  town.  I  cannot  get  many — very 
few,  indeed — to  come  to  my  house  and  read,  which  is  naturally 
one  of  my  great  objects.  They  ask  me  into  their  shops  and 
houses  sometimes,  to  sit  and  discuss  on  the  great  question  at 
issue  between  us  and  them,  some  Beluchees,  mostly  Arabs ;  and 
the  latter  I  vastly  prefer,  and  consider  more  hopeful.  There 
are  some  Hindus  in  the  crowded  bazaars,  but  I  see  little  of 
them — partly  because  of  the  noise  of  narrow  streets  and  traffic, 
and  partly  because  1  do  not  wish  to  be  tempted  away  from  the 


350  ARABIA,   THE  CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

Arabic.  Most  of  the  few  Hindu  traffickers  living  here  under- 
stand Arabic. 

"  There  is  much  outward  observance  of  rehgious  forms ;  there 
are  crowds  of  mosques ;  rather  a  large  proportion  of  educated 
men  and  women  too ;  the  latter  take  special  interest  in  religious 
questions,  and  sometimes  lead  the  opposition  to  the  gospel. 
They  have  large  girls'  schools  and  female  teachers.  There  is  a 
lepers'  village  nigh  at  hand  to  the  town.  I  occupied  for  the 
second  time  this  morning  a  shed  they  have  allotted  me,  well 
roofed  over ;  and  those  poor  lepers,  men  and  women,  gathered 
in  fair  numbers  to  listen.  Chiefly,  however,  I  reach  the  edu- 
cated men  by  the  roadside  or  in  a  house-portico,  sometimes 
even  in  a  mosque,  which  is  to  me  a  new  experience.  Still 
there  is  considerable  shyness,  occasionally  bitter  opposition ; 
yet  bright  faces  of  welcome  sometimes  cheer  me  and  help  me 
on,  and  I  am  only  surprised  that  so  much  is  borne  with.  I 
have  made  special  efforts  to  get  into  the  mosques,  but  most 
often  this  is  refused.  The  Moolahs  and  Muallims  seem  afraid 
of  coming  to  help  me  on  in  my  translations,  or  in  encountering 
with  me  more  difficult  passages  in  the  best  classics.  This  has 
surprised  and  disconcerted  me  rather ;  but  I  have  been  saved 
in  the  main  from  anything  like  depression,  and  have  had  happy 
and  comfortable  proofs  of  the  Saviour's  gracious  Presence  with 
me.  The  Psalms,  as  usual,  seem  most  appropriate  and  an- 
swerable to  the  needs  of  such  a  pioneer  and  lonely  work.     .     .     . 

"If  I  can  get  no  faithful  servant  and  guide  for  the  journey 
into  the  interior,  well  versed  in  dealing  with  Arabs  and  getting 
needful  common  supplies  (I  want  but  little),  I  may  try  Bahrein, 
or  Hodeidah  and  Sennaa,  and  if  that  fails,  the  North  of  Africa 
again,  in  some  highland ;  for  without  a  house  of  our  owh  the 
climate  would  be  insufferable  for  me — at  least,  during  the  very 
hot  months — and  one's  work  would  be  at  a  standstill.  But  I 
shall  not  give  up,  please  God,  even  temporarily,  my  plans  for 
the  interior,  unless,  all  avenues  being  closed,  it  would  be  sheer 
madness  to  attempt  to  carry  them  out." 


BISHOP  FRENCH   THE   VETERAN  MISSIONARY        351 

He  never  reached  the  interior,  for  he  received  a  sunstroke  on 
his  way  from  Muscat  to  the  neighboring  village,  Mattra,  in  an 
open  boat.  He  was  removed  to  the  Consulate  but  scarcely  re- 
gained consciousness  except  to  utter  a  "  God  bless  you  "  to  the 
Consul,  Colonel  Mockler.  He  died  on  May  14th,  1891.  The 
very  manner  of  his  death  fulfilled,  more  than  he  ever  thought, 
his  own  words  in  one  of  his  letters  from  Muscat :  "In  memory 
of  Henry  Martyn's  pleadings  for  Arabia,  Arabs  and  the  Arabic, 
I  seem  almost  trying  at  least  to  follow  more  directly  in  his  foot- 
steps and  under  his  guidance,  than  even  in  Persia  or  India, 
however  incalculable  the  distance  at  which  the  guided  one  fol- 
lows the  leader  ! ' ' 

The  grave  of  Bishop  French  is  in  the  bottom  of  a  narrow 
ravine  circled  by  black  rocks  and  reached  by  boat,  by  round- 
ing the  rocky  point  to  the  south  of  Muscat.  Here  are  many 
graves  of  sailors  of  the  Royal  marine  and  others  who  died  on 
this  burning  and  inhospitable  coast.  Here  also  rests  the  body 
of  Rev.  George  E.  Stone,  the  American  Missionary,  who  was 
called  home  in  the  summer  of  1899,  after  a  short  period  of 
service. 

In  Memory  of  Thomas  Valpy  French,  Bishop  Missionary. 

Where  Muscat  fronts  the  Orient  sun 

'Twixt  heaving  sea  and  rocky  steep, 
His  work  of  mercy  scarce  begun, 

A  saintly  soul  has  fallen  asleep : 
Who  comes  to  lift  the  Cross  instead  ? 
Who  takes  the  standard  from  the  dead  ? 


Where,  under  India's  glowing  sky, 
Agra  the  proud,  and  strong  Lahore, 

Lift  roof  and  gleaming  dome  on  high. 

His  "  seven-toned  tongue  "  is  heard  no  more  : 

Who  comes  to  sound  alarm  instead  ? 

Who  takes  the  clarion  from  the  dead  ? 


352  /IRABIA,   THE  CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

Where  white  camps  mark  the  Afghan's  bound, 

From  Indus  to  Suleiman's  range, 
Through  many  a  gorge  and  upland — sound 

Tidings  of  joy  divinely  strange  : 
But  there  they  miss  his  eager  tread ; 
Who  comes  to  toil  then  for  the  dead  ? 

Where  smile  Cheltonian  hills  and  dales, 
Where  stretches  Erith  down  the  shore 

Of  Thames,  wood-fringed  and  fleck'd  with  sails, 
His  holy  voice  is  heard  no  more 

Is  it  for  nothing  he  is  dead  ? 

Send  forth  your  children  in  his  stead ! 

Far  from  fair  Oxford's  grooves  and  towers, 

Her  scholar  Bishop  dies  apart ; 
He  blames  the  ease  of  cultured  hours 

In  death's  still  voice  that  shakes  the  heart. 
Brave  saint !  for  dark  Arabia  dead ! 
I  go  to  fight  the  fight  instead ! 

O  Eastern-lover  from  the  West ! 

Thou  hast  out-soared  these  prisoning  bars ; 
Thy  memory,  on  thy  Master's  breast, 

Uplifts  us  like  the  beckoning  stars. 
We  follow  now  as  thou  hast  led ; 
Baptize  us,  Saviour,  for  the  dead ! 

— Archdeacon  A.  E.  Moule. 


XXXIII 

THE   AMERICAN    ARABIAN   MISSION 

"  Our  ultimate  object  is  to  occupy  the  interior  of  Arabia." — Plan  of  the 
Arabian  Mission. 

"To  such  an  appeal  there  can  be  but  one  reply.  The  Dutch  Reformed 
Church  when  it  took  up  the  mission  originally  commenced  on  an  inde- 
pendent basis  as  the  Arabian  Mission,  did  so  with  full  knowledge  of  the 
plans  and  purposes  of  its  founders,  which,  as  the  very  title  of  the  mission 
shows,  embraced  nothing  less  than  such  a  comprehensive  scheme  of  evan- 
gelization as  that  above  described." — Major-General  F.  T.  Haig. 

"  It  is  not  keeping  expenses  down,  but  keeping  faith  and  enthusiasm 
up,  that  gives  a  clear  balance  sheet.  Give  the  Church  heroic  leadership, 
place  before  it  high  ideals,  keep  it  on  the  march  for  larger  conquests,  and 
the  financial  problem  will  take  care  of  itself.  If  the  Church  sees  that  we 
are  not  going  to  trust  God  enough  to  venture  upon  any  work  for  Him  till 
we  have  the  money  in  sight,  it  will  probably  adopt  the  same  prudence  in 
making  contributions,  and  our  good  financiering  will  be  with  heavy  loss 
of  income." — T/ie  Christian  Advocate. 

'TPHE  Arabian  Mission  was  organized  August  ist,  1889,  and 
-*■  its  first  missionary,  Rev.  James  Cantine,  sailed  for  the 
field  October  i6th  of  the  same  year.  In  order  to  trace  the 
steps  that  led  this  organization  of  this  first  American  Mission  to 
Arabia,  Ave  must  go  back  a  year  earlier. 

In  the  Theological  Seminary  of  the  Reformed  (Dutch) 
Church  at  New  Brunswick,  New  Jersey,  the  missionary  spirit 
was  especially  active  during  the  year  1888.  This  was  fostered 
by  members  of  the  faculty  who  had  a  warm  love  for  that  work, 
by  a  missionary  lectureship  recently  inaugurated,  by  the  mission- 
ary alumni  of  the  seminary,  and  by  some  of  the  students  them- 
selves who  brought  missions  to  the  front.  Among  these  stu- 
dents were  James  Cantine  and  Philip  T.  Phelps  of  the  senior 

353 


354  j4R/lBU,   THE  CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

class,  and  Samuel  M.  Zvvemer  of  the  middle  class,  who  had 
individually  decided  to  work  abroad,  God  willing,  and  who 
used  to  meet  for  prayer  and  consultation  regarding  the  choice 
of  a  field  of  labor.  The  first  meeting  of  this  band  was  held 
on  October  31st,  1888,  and  the  topic  discussed  was,  "what 
constitutes  a  call  to  the  Foreign  field?  "  After  that  they  met 
almost  every  week,  and  gradually  the  idea  took  shape  of  band- 
ing themselves  together  to  begin  pioneer  work  in  some  one  of 
the  unoccupied  fields.  Tibet  and  Central  Africa  were  men- 
tioned ;  but  their  thoughts  generally  seemed  to  unite  on  some 
Arabic-speaking  country  especially  Nubia  or  the  upper  Nile. 
The  Seminary  library  was  ransacked  for  information  on  these 
fields,  without  definite  results.  At  the  end  of  November  the 
band  decided  to  consult  with  their  Hebrew  and  Arabic  pro- 
fessor, Rev.  J.  G.  Lansing,  D.D.,  who,  being  of  missionary 
parentage  and  full  of  the  missionary  passion,  warmly  welcomed 
their  confidence  and  from  that  time  became  associated  with 
them  in  their  plans.  After  some  time  it  was  mutually  agreed 
that  God  called  them  to  pioneer  work  in  some  portion  of  the 
Mohammedan  world  in  or  adjacent  to  Arabia. 

Over  against  this  Divine  call  there  appeared  a  great  human 
difficulty  :  the  fact  that  the  church  to  which  they  belonged 
and  owed  allegiance  conducted  no  missions  in  the  Mohamme- 
dan world.  The  Mission  Board  of  that  church  was  already 
burdened  with  a  debt  of  ^35,000,  and  therefore  it  was  im- 
probable that  they  would  establish  such  a  work  in  addition 
to  their  other  mission  work.  In  spite  of  these  obstacles,  how- 
ever, it  was  decided,  February  11,  1899,  to  make  formal  appli- 
cation to  the  Board,  and  on  May  23d  the  following  plan  was 
drawn  up,  and  presented  to  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions : 

"  We  the  undersigned  desiring  to  engage  in  pioneer  mission  work  in 
some  Arabic-speaking  country,  and  especially  in  behalf  of  Moslems  and 
slaves,  do  at  the  outset  recognize  the  following  facts : 

I.  The  great  need  and  encouragement  for  this  work  at  the  present 
time. 


THE  AMERICAN  ARABIAN  MISSION  355 

2.  The  non-existence  of  such  mission  work  under  the  supervision  of 
our  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  at  the  present  time. 

3.  The  fact  that  hitherto  little  has  been  done  in  the  channels  indicated. 

4.  The  inability  of  our  Board  to  inaugurate  this  work  under  its  present 
status. 

Therefore,  that  the  object  desired  may  be  realized,  we  respectfully 
submit  to  the  Board,  and  with  their  endorsement  to  the  church  at  large, 
the  following  propositions  : 

1.  The  inauguration  of  this  work  at  as  early  a  time  as  possible. 

2.  The  field  to  be  Arabia,  the  upper  Nile  or  any  other  field,  subject  to 
the  statement  of  the  preamble,  that  shall  be  deemed  most  advantageous, 
after  due  consideration. 

3.  The  expenses  of  said  mission  to  be  met  (a)  by  yearly  subscriptions 
in  amounts  of  from  five  to  two  hundred  dollars ;  the  subscribers  of  like 
amounts  to  constitute  a  syndicate  with  such  organization  as  shall  be 
deemed  desirable;  (/>)  by  syndicates  of  such  individuals,  churches  and 
organizations  as  shall  undertake  the  support  of  individual  missionaries,  or 
contribute  to  such  specific  objects  as  shall  be  required  by  the  mission. 

4.  These  syndicates  shall  be  formed  and  the  financial  pledges  made 
payable  for  a  term  of  five  years. 

5.  At  the  expiration  of  this  period  of  five  years  the  mission  shall  pass 
under  the  direct  supervision  of  our  Board  as  in  the  case  of  our  other  mis- 
sions. Should  the  Board  still  be  financially  unable,  syndicates  shall  be 
re-formed  and  pledges  re-taken. 

6.  In  the  meantime  the  mission  shall  be  generally  under  the  care  of 
the  Board     .     .     ,     through  whose  hands  its  funds  shall  pass. 

7.  The  undersigned  request  the  approval  of  the  Board  to  this  under- 
taking in  general,  and  particularly  in  the  matter  of  soliciting  subscriptions. 

(Signed.)  J.  G.  Lansing, 

Jas.  Cantine, 
P.  T.  Phelps, 

S.  M.  ZWEMER." 


This  plan  was  first  presented  to  the  Board  on  June  3d,  when 
it  was  provisionally  accepted  to  be  referred  to  the  General 
Synod.  On  June  nth,  the  Synod,  after  a  long  and  ardent 
discussion,  referred  the  whole  matter  back  to  the  Board,  asking 
them  "carefully  to  consider  the  whole  question  and,  should 
the   Board   see   their  way  clear,   that  they  be  authorized  to 


356  /IRABU,   THE   CRADLE   OF  ISLAM 

inaugurate  the  mission  proposed."     On  June  26th  the  Board 
met  and  passed  the  following  resolution  : 

"  Resolved,  That,  while  the  Board  is  greatly  interested  in  the  propo- 
sition to  engage  in  mission  work  among  the  Arabic  speaking  peoples,  the 
work  in  which  the  Board  is  already  engaged  is  so  great  and  so  constantly 
growing,  and  the  financial  condition  of  the  Board  is  such  (its  debt  at  that 
time  being  ^35,000),  that  the  Board  feels  constrained  to  decline  to  assume 
any  responsibility  in  the  matter. 

"  If,  however,  during  the  next  four  months,  such  a  degree  of  interest  in 
Foreign  Missions  should  be  developed  in  the  churches  as  to  reduce  the 
amount  to  which  the  treasury  is  now  overdrawn  to  a  small  fraction,  then 
the  Board  would  feel  inclined  to  favor  that  important  enterprise." 

Meanwhile  the  plan  had  been  fully  discussed  in  the  church 
papers,  and  although  there  were  warm  friends  of  the  enterprise 
who  earnestly  plead  by  pen  and  purse  for  its  inauguration,  the 
current  generally  ran  dead  against  the  proposal,  and  much  cold 
water  was  thrown  on  the  enterprise.^ 

How  those  felt  who  were  most  concerned  in  the  decision  was 
expressed  by  Professor  Lansing,  on  their  behalf,  in  the  follow- 
ing words:  "The  writer  and  the  individuals  named  are 
deeply  grateful  to  General  Synod  for  its  hearty  reception  and 
advocacy  of  the  proposed  mission.  And,  on  the  other  hand, 
they  not  only  have  no  word  of  complaint  to  utter  in  regard  to 
the  action  of  the  Board,  but  are  grateful  to  the  Board  for  the 
careful  consideration  they  have  given  the  matter,  and  deeply 
sympathize  with  them  in  the  sorrow  which  they  and  all  must 
feel  in  connection  with  the  adverse  action  taken.  But  this  does 
not  discharge  the  responsibility.  A  responsibility  Divinely 
imposed  is  not  discharged  by  any  admission  of  existing  human 
difficulty.  .  .  .  When  God  calls  we  must  obey,  not  object. 
And  also  when  God  calls  to  some  specific  work,  then  He  must 
have  some  way  by  which  that  work  can  be  done." 

■  An  able  plea  for  the  acceptance  of  the  Missions  by  the  Church  was 
made  by  Rev.  J.  A.  Davis,  in  the  Christian  Intelligencer,  N.  Y.,  Sep- 
tember 18,  1889. 


THE  /I  M  ERIC /IN  ARABIAN  MISSION  357 

After  much  thought  and  prayer  a  plan  was  adopted  for  con- 
ducting this  work.  The  motto  of  the  new  mission  appeared  at 
the  head  :  "  Oh  that  Ishmael  might  Hve  before  Thee."  After 
the  preamble,  similar  to  the  original  plan,  there  are  the  follow- 
ing sections : 

"  I.     This  missionary  movement  shall  be  known  as  The  Arabian  Mission. 

2.  The  field,  so  far  as  at  present  it  is  possible  to  be  determined,  shall 
be  Arabia  and  the  adjacent  coast  of  Africa. 

3.  Selected  by  and  associated  with  the  undersigned  shall  be  a  Com- 
mittee of  Advice,  composed  of  four  contributors,  to  assist  in  advancing  the 
interests  of  this  mission. 

4.  In  view  of  the  fact  that  this  mission  is  of  necessity  undenomina- 
tional in  its  personnel  and  working,  contributions  are  solicited  from  any 
and  all  to  whom  this  may  come,  without  reference  to  denominational  ad- 
herence. 

5.  The  amount  required  to  carry  on  the  work  of  this  mission  will  be 
the  sum  necessary  to  meet  the  equipment  and  working  expenses  of  the 
individuals  approved  of  and  sent  to  engage  in  the  work  of  this  mission. 
No  debt  shall  be  incurred  and  no  salaries  be  paid  to  other  than  mis- 
sionaries. 

6.  It  is  desired  that  the  amount  subscribed  shall  ttot  intei-fere  with 
the  individual's  regular  denominational  contributions  to  foreign  mis- 
sions. 

7.  Of  the  undersigned  the  first  party  shall  be  Treasurer,  and  have  gen- 
eral oversight  of  the  interests  of  the  mission  at  home  and  as  such  shall 
render  an  annual  statement,  while  the  missionaries  in  the  field  shall  have 
the  direction  of  those  interests  abroad.     .     .     ." 

The  rough  draft  of  this  plan  was  drawn  up  at  Pine  Hill  Cot- 
tage, in  the  Catskills,  on  August  ist.  A  few  days  later,  while 
the  band  was  at  the  old  Cantine  homestead,  Stone  Ridge, 
New  York,  Dr.  Lansing  composed  the  Arabian  Mission  hymn, 
which  will  always  be  an  inspiration  to  those  who  love  Arabia ; 
but  it  will  never  be  sung  with  deeper  feeling  than  it  was  for  the 
first  tiine,  in  an  upper  room,  by  three  voices. 

When  the  plan  was  published,  the  Rubicon  was  crossed, 
although  not  without  the  loss  of  one  name  from  among  the 
signers.     Contributions  began  to  come  in,  the  Committee  of 


358  ARABIA,    THE   CRADLE   OF  ISLAM 

Jlrn,  Ki/i  i(nn.  pry  flu^. 
(vi^Lx/^  lliaZ^  \kxZv  ^d^  blcJZzicf 

&0  lid  Wf  (^/c^^OuMj  <^c^oCu^c^ 
iyiA'^c^^uK  llu.  G^w^  Ikcjy  Qathx^a^ Idu. Ci(^i't 

aiU.  iArcUKk^  Qf^Aa:^^  o^uJiu^ 

THE  ARABIAN   MISSIONARY   HYMN. 

Facsimile  of  the  original  copy  composed  by  Prof.  J.  G.  Lansing  in  1889, 
at  Stone  Ridge,  N.  Y, 


THE  AMERICAN  ARABIAN  MISSION  359 

Advice  was  selected,  and  the  mission  was  incorporated.  Among 
other  tokens  of  favor  the  mission  received  at  this  juncture  from 
Catherine  Crane  Halstead,  a  legacy,  of  nearly  five  thousand 
dollars — the  largest  gift,  and  the  only  legacy  received  by  the 
Arabian  Mission  in  the  past  decade.  This  unexpected  and 
providential  donation  was  encouraging  and  enabled  the  mission 
to  begin  work  immediately. 

On  October  ist  James  Cantine  was  ordained  by  the  Classis 
of  Kingston  in  the  Fair  Street  Reformed  Church  and  he  sailed 
for  Syria  on  October  i6th,  stopping  at  Edinburgh  to  consult 
with  the  Free  Church  of  Scotland  Committee  regarding  co- 
operation with  their  mission  at  Aden.  The  proposition  was 
cordially  welcomed  but  was  not  acted  upon  since  at  Sheikh 
Othman,  it  was  afterwards  mutually  agreed  that  more  would 
probably  be  accomplished  if  the  missions  worked  separately. 
The  second  member  of  the  band  to  leave  for  the  field  was 
ordained  by  the  Classis  of  Iowa,  at  Orange  City,  and  sailed 
on  June  28th,  1890. 

The  two  pioneers  left  Syria  for  Cairo  at  the  end  of  November 
to  meet  Professor  Lansing  who  was  in  Egypt  for  his  health. 
On  December  i8th  Mr.  Cantine  left  by  direct  steamer  for  Aden, 
and  on  January  8th,  1891,  the  writer  followed  in  an  Egyptian 
coasting  steamer,  desiring  to  call  at  Jiddah  and  Hodeidah,  and 
to  meet  General  Haig,  who  was  then  at  Suakin  in  charge  of 
rescue  work  for  orphans  after  the  war.^  My  journey  down  the 
Red  Sea  was  made  in  company  with  the  aged  Bishop  French, 
though  neither  of  us  ever  heard  of  the  other  before  we  met  on 
the  train  to  take  the  same  ship  at  Suez.  We  then  learned  for 
the  first  time  that  both  were  bound  for  the  same  point  with  the 
same  object,  to  preach  Christ  to  the  Arabs. 

From  Aden  the  two  American  missionaries  made  it  their 
first  task  to  explore  the  points  suggested  by  General  Haig  for 
missionary  occupation.     One,  Mr.   Cantine,  journeyed  north- 

'This  meeting  with  General  Haig  was  described  by  him  in  an  account 
in  the  London  Christian  (June,  189 1). 


360  ARABU,   THE   CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

ward  to  the  country  of  the  Sultan  of  Lahaj,  while  the  other 
sailed  along  the  southern  coast  in  company  with  Kamil,  the 
Syrian  convert  from  Islam.  This  earnest  young  disciple  had 
become  acquainted  with  Mr.  Cantine  in  Syria,  and  early  ex- 
pressed a  desire  to  join  in  the  work  for  Arabia.  He  loved  the 
Scriptures  and  never  shrank  from  obstacles  which  stood  in  the 
way  of  faith  or  service.  His  biography,  by  Dr.  Henry  Jessup, 
shows  what  he  surrendered  for  Christ ;  only  the  day  of  days 
will  show  how  much  he  accomplished  for  Arabia.  On  May 
26th,  1891,  Mr.  Cantine  sailed  to  visit  Muscat  and  the  Persian 
Gulf,  with  the  understanding  that  his  co-laborer  should  mean- 
while attempt  the  journey  to  Sana  and  study  the  possible  open- 
ings for  work  in  Yemen.  The  news  of  Bishop  French's  death 
had  already  reached  Aden.  Mr.  Cantine  tarried  at  Muscat  a 
fortnight,  after  which  he  visited  Bahrein  and  other  ports  of  the 
Gulf,  going  on  finally  to  Busrah  and  Bagdad.  The  importance 
of  Busrah  as  a  mission  centre  was  evident.  In  population, 
accessibility  and  strategic  location  it  was  superior  to  other 
places  in  Eastern  Arabia.  Here  seemed  to  be  the  place  to 
drive  the  opening  wedge. 

Meanwhile  a  twenty-days'  journey  to  Sana  and  the  villages 
of  Yemen  on  the  Hodeidah  route,  had  shown  the  importance 
of  Sana  as  a  centre  of  operations,  as  is  shown  from  the  follow- 
ing written  at  that  time  :  "It  has  advantages  of  large  popula- 
tion, central  location,  importance  of  position  and  healthfulness 
of  climate.  Mail  comes  weekly  and  a  telegraph  connects  with 
the  outside  world.  Its  disadvantages  are,  a  Turkish  govern- 
ment and  the  consequent  difficulties  of  open  and  aggressive 
work.  Like  the  road  from  Hodeidah  to  Sana,  it  will  be  uphill 
work,  through  mountains  and  strong  places,  but  in  both  cases 
you  reach  Arabia  Felix."  On  meeting  Mr.  Cantine  at  Busrah, 
however,  the  arguments  for  Yemen  were  set  aside,  and  it  was 
agreed  that  it  was  best  to  make  Busrah  the  first  headquarters. 
It  was  never  thought  at  the  time  that  Yemen's  highlands  would, 
after  ten  years,  still  be  without  a  missionary. 


•^        ^ 


'*'\s^fc'i'*'i'N 


'  :   , '"  '   »^jr^  >•   #.L 


THE    OLD    MISSION'    HOUSE   AT    BUSRAH 


THE    KITCHEN   OF   THE   OLD    MISSION    HOUSE,    BUSRAH 


THE  /!M  ERIC  AN  ARABIAN  MISSION  361 

Dr.  M.  Eustace  was  then  at  Busrah,  doing  dispensary-work 
for  the  poor  and  acting  as  physician  to  the  European  com- 
munity. He  welcomed  the  missionaries  and  worked  with  them 
heartily  until  he  was  transferred  to  the  Church  Missionary  Soci- 
ety hospital  at  Quetta.  His  departure  emphasized  the  power 
of  a  medical  missionary  among  Moslems,  and  the  missionaries 
made  a  strong  plea  for  a  physician  to  join  them.  In  January, 
1892,  the  Board  of  Trustees  sent  out  Dr.  C.  E.  Riggs,  a  man 
with  testimonials  of  his  standing  as  a  physician  and  a  member 
of  an  Evangelical  church,  but  who,  shortly  after  reaching  the 
field,  avowed  his  disbelief  in  the  divinity  of  Christ.  His 
commission  was  revoked  and  he  soon  returned  to  America. 
After  several  strange  adventures  this  singular  yet  lovable  man 
reached  Chicago,  was  converted  under  the  preaching  of  D.  L. 
Moody  at  the  World's  Fair,  and  died  at  his  home  in  New 
Orleans  about  a  year  later.  It  was  a  long  way  to  the  Father's 
house  but  proves  the  power  of  prayer,  and  that  God  never 
forgets  His  own. 

On  June  24th  of  the  same  year  faithful  Kamil,  rightly  named 
Abd  El  Messiah  (servant  of  Christ),  was  called  to  his  reward. 
His  illness  was  so  sudden  and  the  circumstances  that  attended 
his  death  so  suspicious  that  we  cannot  but  believe  that  he  died 
a  martyr  by  poison.  He  was  the  strongest  man  of  the  mission 
in  controversy  with  Moslems,  and  a  most  lovable  character, 
so  that  the  report  of  that  year  truthfully  states,  "our  loss  in 
his  death  is  unmeasured." 

These  two  successive  blows  were  very  serious  and  now  two 
other  losses  followed.  Yakoob,  another  Moslem  convert,  who 
had  been  in  mission  employ,  and  whose  wife  received  baptism 
at  Busrah,  was  arrested  and  prevented  from  returning  to  our 
field.  Also  one  of  the  two  efficient  colporteurs  employed  by 
the  mission,  left  to  seek  his  fortune  in  America.  The  con- 
tinued illness  of  Dr.  Lansing  in  the  home  land  and  a  decrease 
in  contributions  likewise  cast  a  shadow  on  the  work.  But  faith 
grew  stronger  by  trial.     In  the  quarterly  letter,  near  the  close 


362  ARABIA,   THE   CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

of  this  year,  we  read:  "The  experience  of  the  missionaries 
ever  since  arriving  at  Aden,  their  tours  along  the  coast  and  in- 
land, the  opportunities  for  work  along  the  Euphrates,  the  Tigris 
and  the  Gulf,  and  the  deep  consciousness  that  our  mission  is 
called  of  God  to  carry  the  gospel  into  the  interior  of  Arabia — 
all  prompt  us  to  make  a  special  plea  at  this  time  for  additional 
workers.  There  are  several  points  near  Busrah  where  perma- 
nent work  should  be  inaugurated  without  delay,  and  places 
like  Bahrein,  Muscat  or  Sana  are  equally,  perhaps  more,  open 
to  the  gospel  than  Busrah  itself.  .  .  .  If  the  Arabian 
mission  is  to  be  true  to  its  name  and  purpose,  it  must  occupy 
Arabia.'"  This  was  followed  by  an  appeal  for  five  new  men 
and  the  request  that,  should  means  be  lacking  to  send  them 
out,  salaries  be  reduced,  "confident  that  the  best  way  to  in- 
crease contributions  is  by  extending  our  work  and  trusting  that 
God  will  provide  for  the  future." 

The  mission  was  at  this  time  passing  through  a  period  of  de- 
termined opposition  and  open  hostility  on  the  part  of  the  Turk- 
ish local  government.  Colporteurs  were  arrested ;  the  Bible 
shop  sealed  up ;  books  confiscated ;  and  a  guard  placed  at  the 
door  of  the  house  occupied  by  the  missionaries.  A  petition 
was  sent  to  the  Sublime  Porte  to  expel  the  mission.  But  the 
opposition  was  short-lived  and  the  petition  never  accomplished 
its  purpose.  In  December  Rev.  Peter  J.  Zwemer  joined  the 
mission  in  Busrah.  The  difficulties  in  the  way  of  securing 
a  residence  were  at  first  very  great  and  frequent  change  of 
abode  was  detrimental  to  the  work.  Arrangements  were  like- 
wise made  during  this  year  to  carry  on  all  the  Bible  work  for 
the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society  in  the  region  occupied 
by  the  mission. 

The  chief  event  of  the  next  year  was  the  occupation  of 
Bahrein  as  a  second  station.  Although  the  first  attempt  to  open 
a  Bible  shop  and  to  secure  a  residence  on  the  islands  was 
fraught  with  exceeding  difficulty  and  much  opposition,  the  at- 
tempt was  successful,  and  at  the  close  of  the  first  year  over  two 


THE  AMERICAN  ARABIAN  MISSION  3G3 

hundred  portions  of  Scripture  had  been  sold.  A  journey  was 
made  into  the  province  of  Hassa  and  the  eastern  threshold  of 
Arabia  was  thus  crossed  for  the  first  time  by  a  missionary.  At 
Busrah  the  evangelistic  work  and  Bible  circulation  made  prog- 
ress, but  medical  work  was  at  a  standstill.  Cholera  visited 
both  stations  and  greatly  interfered  with  the  w^ork ;  many  peo- 
ple fled  from  Busrah,  and  at  Bahrein  the  total  number  of 
deaths  was  over  five  thousand.  Peter  Zwemer  kept  lonely 
watch  on  the  islands  at  that  time ;  his  only  servant  died  of 
cholera  and  he  himself  could  not  get  away  as  no  ship  would 
take  passengers. 

Early  in  1894  the  good  news  came  that  Dr.  James  T. 
Wyckoff  had  been  appointed  to  join  the  mission.  Sailing  on 
January  6th,  and  going  via  Constantinople  to  secure  his  Turk- 
ish diploma  he  arrived  at  Busrah  in  March.  But  the  joy  of 
welcoming  a  medical  missionary  was  short-lived,  for  after  a 
brief  stay  at  Busrah  he  went  to  Bahrein  where  a  severe  attack 
of  chronic  dysentery  soon  compelled  him  to  return  to  Busrah 
and  subsequently  to  Kerachi  and  America.  Thus  the  mission 
lost  its  third  medical  missionary,  and  his  successor  did  not 
come  out  until  the  following  year. 

Muscat  was  visited  by  Peter  Zwemer  as  early  as  December, 
1893,  and  his  reports  of  this  port  as  a  prospective  centre  for 
work  in  Oman  were  so  encouraging  after  several  exploration 
journeys,  that  it  was  decided  to  allow  him  to  occupy  the 
station. 

During  the  summer  of  1894,  the  writer,  at  the  request  and 
expense  of  the  Mildmay  Mission  to  the  Jews,  made  a  journey 
to  Sana,  to  distribute  Hebrew  New  Testaments.  It  was  also 
hoped  that  it  would  be  possible  for  him  to  cross  from  Sana  to 
Bahrein,  by  way  of  Wady  Dauasir.  But  the  theft  of  all  his 
money  even  before  reaching  Sana  and  his  arrest  by  the  Turks, 
prevented  the  attempt. 

After  many  trials  and  tribulations  in  the  administration  of 
the  mission  at  home,  negotiations  were  concluded  in  June, 


364  ARABIA,   THE  CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

1894,  by  which  it  was  transferred  to  the  management  and  care 
of  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  of  the  Reformed  Church. 
The  distinct  existence  of  the  corporation  is  still  preserved,  but 
the  trustees  are  chosen  from  among  the  members  of  the  Foreign 
Mission  Board.  No  other  departures  from  former  methods 
were  made,  save  that  the  administration  was  now  in  experi- 
enced hands  and  at  less  expense  than  formerly.  The  change 
was  cordially  accepted  by  nearly  all  the  missionaries  and  the 
contributors ;  now  no  one  questions  its  wisdom  and  benefit. 

The  year  1895  was  another  trying  year  to  the  mission,  but 
there  were  also  blessings.  The  departure  of  Rev.  James  Can- 
tine  to  America  on  furlough,  after  nearly  seven  years  in  Arabia, 
necessitated  the  transferral  of  the  writer  to  Busrah  and  so  left 
Bahrein  practica^y  uncared  for.  The  missionaries  and  native 
helpers  suffered  -hore  than  usual  from  the  enervating  climate, 
and  touring  fro.  i  both  Muscat  and  Bahrein  was  made  impos- 
sible for  a  large  part  of  the  year  by  tribal  wars  and  troubles. 
In  February  the  Bedouins  attacked  Muscat  and  captured  the 
town ;  the  place  was  given  over  to  pillage  and  over  two  hun- 
dred lives  were  lost ;  the  mission-house  and  shop  were  looted  and 
Peter  Zwemer  took  refuge  at  the  British  consulate.  At  Bah- 
rein a  similar  trouble  threatened  for  months  and  terror  reigned, 
but  the  disturbance  never  reached  the  islands  and  the  unruly 
Arabs  were  punished  by  English  gunboats.  At  Busrah  the 
Bible  work  was  stopped  by  the  Turkish  authorities ;  the  shop 
closed  and  colporteurs  arrested.  The  arrival  of  Dr.  H.  R. 
Lankford  Worrall  at  Busrah,  on  April  21st,  with  a  Turkish 
diploma,  once  more  gave  the  mission  the  golden  key  to  the 
hearts  of  the  people.  Dr.  Worrall  has  used  it  faithfully,  al- 
though his  severe  illness  the  first  summer  almost  made  the  mis- 
sion despair  of  the  health  of  doctors. 

Mr.  Cantine  visited  the  churches  in  America  and  greatly 
stimulated  interest,  prayer  and  offerings,  although  no  new  mis- 
sionaries were  found  willing  and  suitable  for  the  field. 

At  the  end  of  the  year  Amara  was  opened  as  an  out-station 


THE  AMERICAN  ARABIAN  MISSION  365 

in  the  midst  of  much  opposition  but  greater  blessing.  Even 
during  this  year  earnest  inquirers  in  this  fanatical  river  village 
gladdened  the  hearts  of  the  workers. 

Work  for  the  women  of  Eastern  Arabia  was  begun  in  1896 
by  Amy  Elizabeth  Wilkes  Zwemer,  who  left  the  Church  Mission 
Society  mission  at  Bagdad  to  be  married  to  Rev.  S.  M. 
Zwemer.  First  at  Busrah,  then  at  Bahrein  and  Kateef  she  in- 
augurated the  work  which  only  a  woman  can  do  in  Moslem 
lands.  Extensive  tours  were  made  by  the  colporteurs  and  by 
Peter  Zwemer.  The  entire  region  north  of  Muscat  as  far  as 
Someil  and  Rastak,  even  to  Jebel  Achdar,  was  penetrated  by 
the  missionary  and  colporteurs.  One  of  the  latter  visited  the 
so-called  "pirate  coast"  south  of  Katar  and  sold  over  a  hun- 
dred portions  of  Scripture.  The  following  table  shows  the  in- 
crease of  Scripture  sales  by  the  mission  at  ai.  of  its  stations. 
More  than  five-sixths  of  these  copies  were  sold       Moslems : 


1892 

1893 

1894 

1895 

1896 

1897 

1898 

1899 

620 

825 

1,760 

2,313 

2,805 

I;779 

2,010 

2,464 

At  Busrah  first  fruits  were  gathered  after  these  years  of  sow- 
ing in  two  remarkable  cases.  A  soldier  at  Amara  accepted 
Christ  and  came  to  Busrah  for  instruction ;  this  man  has  since 
"suffered  the  loss  of  all  things"  and  "witnessed  a  good  con- 
fession "  wherever  he  has  been  dragged  as  an  exile  or  driven 
as  an  apostate.  Another  convert  was  a  middle-aged  Persian 
who  was  deeply  convicted  of  sin  by  reading  a  copy  of  Luke's 
gospel  in  the  dispensary  at  Busrah.  He  was  a  consumptive, 
and  after  finding  peace  in  Christ,  left  Busrah  for  Shiraz. 

In  the  autumn  Mr.  Cantine  returned  to  the  field,  but  the 
following  February  Mr.  and  Mrs.  S.  M.  Zwemer  departed  on 
furlough,  so  that,  with  no  reinforcements,  the  mission-staff  re- 
mained insufficient.  The  work  at  Bahrein  not  only  stood  still, 
but,  because  of  the  unfaithfulness  of  a  native  helper,  retro- 
graded.    Muscat   was,  on  the  contrary,  increasing   in  impor- 


366  ARABIA,   THE  CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

tance.  A  school  was  begun  by  Mr.  P.  J.  Zwemer,  when 
eighteen  helpless  African  boys,  rescued  from  a  slave-dhow, 
were  handed  over  to  his  care.  The  little  hand  press  in  the 
mission-house  sent  forth  its  first  message;  a  tract  comparing 
Christ  and  Mohammed,  which  stirred  thought  as  well  as  oppo- 
sition. It  was  the  first  Christian  writing  ever  printed  in  Ara- 
bia and  its  simple  message  is  prophetic:  "  Mohammed  or 
Christ,  on  whom  do  you  rely  ?  " 

At  Busrah  the  medical  work  drew  many  within  hearing  of 
the  gospel  and  Dr.  Worrall  was  able  to  open  work  at  Nasa- 
riyeh.  At  Amara  the  seed  once  more  fell  on  good  soil,  and  a 
small  band  of  inquirers  came  together  for  prayer,  but  the  har- 
vest is  not  yet. 

At  the  close  of  1897,  Rev.  F.  J.  Barny,  supported  by  the 
young  people  of  the  Marble  Collegiate  Church,  New  York 
City,  came  to  the  field,  and  began  language  study. 

The  year  1898  is  fresh  in  the  memory  of  all  those  who  are 
interested  in  the  Arabian  Mission.  During  it  Peter  Zwemer, 
after  having  gone  to  America,  was  called  to  his  reward  and 
four  new  missionaries  sent  out  into  the  harvest  field  to  sow  the 
seed  of  the  kingdom.  Two  of  them,  Miss  Margaret  Rice  (now 
Mrs.  Barny)  and  Rev.  George  E.  Stone,  sailed  with  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  S.  M.  Zwemer  on  their  return  in  August.  The  other  two. 
Dr.  Sharon  J.  Thorns  and  Dr.  Marion  Wells  Thorns,  of  the 
University  of  Michigan,  came  to  the  field  in  December,  1898. 
Mr.  Stone  has  now  also  gone  to  his  reward — the  third  of  the 
Arabian  Mission  to  lay  down  his  life  for  Arabia. 


XXXIV 

IN   MEMORIAM — PETER   J.    ZWEMER    AND   GEO.    E.    STONE 

A  SKILLFUL  and  loving  hand  has  laid  a  wreath  of  im- 
mortelles on  the  unknown  grave  of  Kamil ;  his  biog- 
raphy will  live.  We  can  only  briefly  record  our  love  and  ad- 
miration for  those  other  two  of  the  Arabian  Mission,  who  "  loved 
not  their  lives  unto  the  death,"  but  "hazarded  their  lives  for 
the  name  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ." 

Peter  John  Zwemer  was  born  at  South  Holland,  Illinois, 
near  Chicago,  on  September  2d,  1868.  His  childhood  was 
spent  in  a  loving  Christian  home  surrounded  by  gracious  in- 
fluences and  the  prayers  of  godly  parents.  In  1880  he  entered 
the  preparatory  department  of  Hope  College,  Holland,  Michigan, 
and  was  finally  graduated  from  the  college  in  1888.  He  was 
the  only  one  of  his  class  to  choose  the  foreign  field,  and  for  it 
he  sought  special  preparation  after  graduation,  by  work  as 
Bible  colporteur  in  Western  Pennsylvania  and  New  York,  and 
a  year  of  teaching  in  Iowa.  In  1892  he  was  graduated  from 
the  New  Brunswick  Theological  Seminary,  and  on  September 
14th,  of  the  same  year,  was  ordained  at  Grand  Rapids,  Michi- 
gan, and  sailed  for  Arabia  on  October  19th.  From  the  day 
of  his  arrival  on  the  field  to  the  day  of  his  death  his  first 
thought  was  gospel  work  for  the  Arabs.  He  was  of  a  practical 
turn  of  mind,  and  had  no  visionary  ideas  nor  desire  for  martyr- 
dom, but  a  sturdy,  steady  purpose  to  make  his  life  tell.  He 
was  eager  to  meet  men,  keen  to  grasp  opportunities,  a  cosmo- 
politan in  spirit  always  and  everywhere.  A  student  of  charac- 
ter rather  than  of  books,  he  preferred  to  make  two  difficult 
journeys  than  report  on  one.  He  loved  to  teach  and  knew 
how  to  do  it.     Sympathy   for  the  weak  and  suffering  and  a 

367 


368  ARABIA,   THE  CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

hatred  for  all  shams  were  prominent  traits.  He  endeared  him- 
self even  to  those  from  whom  he  differed  in  opinion  or  con- 
duct by  his  whole-hearted  sincerity  and  earnest  advocacy  of 
his  views.  Arabia  was  to  him  a  school  of  faith  ;  his  Christian 
character  ripened  into  full  fruitage  through  much  suffering. 
Mr.  Cantine  wrote  of  him  : 

"  Our  personal  relations  were  perhaps  more  intimate  than 
those  usually  known  by  the  missionaries  of  our  scattered  sta- 
tions. I  was  at  Busrah  to  welcome  him  when  in  1892  he  re- 
sponded to  our  first  call  for  volunteers,  and  was  also  the  one 
to  say  good-bye  a  few  months  ago  as  he  left  behind  him  the 
rocks  and  hills  of  Muscat  and  Oman,  among  which  the  pre- 
cious cruse  of  his  strength  had  been  broken  for  the  Master's 
service.  His  course  was  more  trying  than  that  of  the  others 
of  our  company,  as  he  came  among  us  when  the  impulse  and 
enthusiasm  which  attach  to  the  opening  of  a  new  work  were 
beginning  to  fail,  and  before  our  experience  had  enabled  us  to 
lessen  some  of  the  trials  and  discomforts  of  a  pioneer  effort. 
A  thorough  American,  appreciating  and  treasuring  the  memory 
of  the  civilization  left  behind,  he  yet  readily  adapted  himself 
to  the  conditions  here  found.  Of  a  sensitive  nature,  he  keenly 
felt  any  roughness  from  friend  or  foe,  but  I  never  knew  him  on 
that  account  to  show  any  bitterness  or  to  shirk  the  performance 
of  any  recognized  duty. 

"  Of  those  qualities  which  make  for  success  in  our  field  he 
had  not  a  few.  His  social  instincts  led  him  at  once  to  make 
friends  among  the  Arabs,  and  while  his  vocabulary  was  still 
very  limited,  he  would  spend  hours  in  the  coffee-shops  and  in 
the  gathering-places  of  the  town.  His  exceptional  musical 
talents  also  attracted  and  made  for  him  many  acquaintances 
among  those  he  was  seeking  to  reach,  besides  proving  a  con- 
stant pleasure  to  his  associates  and  a  most  important  aid  in  all 
our  public  services.  And  many  a  difficulty  was  surmounted 
by  his  hopefulness  and  buoyancy  of  disposition,  which  even 
pain  and  sickness  could  not  destroy." 


1\^-^         Kamil  Abdel  Messiah         ^"-^  j/o 

FOUR    MISSIOXARY    MARTYRS   OF   ARABIA 


IN  MEMORUM— PETER  J.   ZlVEMER  369 

His  short  period  of  service  in  Arabia  was  longer  than  that 
of  either  Keith  Falconer  or  Bishop  French  and  although  their 
lives  have  perhaps  exerted  a  much  wider  influence,  his  has  left 
larger  fruitage  on  Arabian  soil.  Of  his  sickness  and  death  the 
Rev.  H.  N.  Cobb,  D.  D.,  Secretary  of  the  mission  wrote : 

"  When  the  station  at  Muscat  was  opened  in  1893  it  was  as- 
signed to  him.  From  that  time  until  May  of  the  present  year 
Muscat  was  his  home.  There  he  remained  alone  most  of  the 
time.  Frequent  attacks  of  fever  prostrated  him,  unsanitary 
and  unpleasant  conditions  surrounded  him,  the  heat,  con- 
stant and  intense,  often  overwhelmed  him ;  still  he  clung 
heroically  to  his  post,  uttering  no  word  of  complaint,  and 
quitting  it  only  when  mission  business  made  it  necessary,  or 
tours  were  to  be  undertaken  along  the  coast  or  in  the  interior, 
or  when  prolonged  attacks  of  fever  and  the  preservation  of  life 
made  a  limited  absence  imperative.  When  one  considers  all 
that  he  endured,  the  wonder  is  not  that  he  died,  but  that  he 
lived  as  long  as  he  did.  No  higher  heroism  fought,  suffered 
and  at  last  succumbed  at  Santiago.  He  had  become  so  much 
reduced  by  repeated  attacks  of  fever  and  rheumatism  that  it 
was  thought  wise  last  year  that  he  should  leave  Arabia  and 
come  home.  His  desire  was  to  remain  until  next  year,  1899, 
but  in  the  early  part  of  this  year  it  became  evident  that  he 
must  not  remain.  When  in  the  latter  part  of  May  he  left 
Arabia,  his  weakness  was  so  great  that  he  was  carried  on  board 
the  steamer.  On  the  homeward  way,  though  Avriting  back 
cheerfully  concerning  his  improvement  to  those  whom  he  had 
left  behind,  he  grew  gradually  worse,  and  when  he  arrived  in 
this  country  on  the  evening  of  July  12,  was  taken  immediately 
to  the  Presbyterian  Hospital  through  the  kind  assistance  of  a 
student  for  orders  in  the  Roman  Catholic  Church.  Those  who 
have  visited  him  there,  and  they  have  been  many,  have  been 
struck  by  his  cheerfulness,  his  hopeful  courage,  his  anxious  de- 
sire to  recover,  that  he  might  return  to  his  field  and  work,  and 
yet  his  willing  submission  to  his  Father's  will." 


370  /iRABi/1,   THE  CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

He  clung  to  life  with  a  grip  of  steel  and  laughed  at  the  idea 
the  doctors  had  of  his  approaching  death  because  he  could  not 
believe  that  his  work  was  done.  "I  have  done  nothing  yet 
and  when  I  go  back  this  time  I  will  be  ready  to  begin  work," 
were  his  words.  Yet  he  had  no  fear  of  death.  His  eye  never 
turned  away  from  Arabia ;  he  longed  to  plant  the  plough  once 
more  in  the  stony  soil  of  Oman  and  to  teach  the  most  ignorant 
the  way  of  life.  From  his  dying  bed  he  sent  to  the  committee 
a  report  regarding  changes  necessary  in  the  house  at  Muscat. 
His  hand,  almost  too  weak  to  hold  a  pen,  wrote  on  October 
7th:  "Dear  father — I  am  slowly  but  surely  improving  and 
may  be  home  soon.  Now  the  board  has  authorized  me  to 
complete  the  building-fund.  I  have  just  secured  $100  for  a 
Muscat  touring  boat.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Thoms  sailed  this  morn- 
for  Arabia,  /aus  Deo  !  I  felt  sorry  I  could  not  divide  myself 
and  go  with  them  .  .  .  patiently  longing  I  wait  His 
time." 

Even  later  than  this,  when  he  could  no  longer  write,  he 
dictated  letters  regarding  the  work  at  home  and  in  the  field. 
On  the  evening  of  Tuesday,  October  i8th,  1898,  six  weeks 
after  his  thirtieth  birthday  he  quietly  fell  asleep.  "  His  time  " 
had  come.  After  a  brief  service,  the  body  was  taken  by  lov- 
ing hands  to  Holland,  Michigan,  and  laid  to  rest  in  the  sure 
and  certain  hope  of  a  glorious  resurrection.  But  his  heart 
rests  in  Arabia  and  his  memory  will  remain  longest  where  he 
suffered  most  and  where  his  fellowship  was  so  blessed. 

"  O  blest  communion  !  fellowship  divine  ! 
We  feebly  struggle,  they  in  glory  shine 
Yet  all  are  one  in  Thee  for  all  are  Thine. 
Hallelujah ! 

"  And  when  the  strife  is  fierce,  the  warfare  long, — 
Steals  on  the  ear  the  distant  triumph-song 
And  hearts  are  brave  again  and  arms  are  strong. 
Hallelujah ! " 


IN  MEMORIAM-GEO.  E.  STONE  371 

George  E.  Stone. 

On  the  twenty-sixth  of  June,  1899,  George  E.  Stone  died  of 
heat  apoplexy  at  the  coast  town  of  Birka  a  few  miles  east  of 
Muscat.  On  Thursday  the  twenty-second  of  that  month,  in 
company  with  a  colporteur,  he  left  Muscat,  for  a  few  days 
change.  He  was  in  fairly  good  health,  although  suffering  from 
boils.  Monday  morning  he  had  a  little  fever  ;  in  the  after- 
noon it  came  again  and  in  a  few  hours  he  had  departed.  His 
body  was  taken  to  Muscat  by  the  colporteur  and  there  buried 
near  the  grave  of  Bishop  French  whose  death  was  from  the 
same  cause. 

Rev.  George  E.  Stone  was  born  on  September  2d,  1870,  at 
Mexico,  Oswego  County,  New  York.  He  was  graduated  from 
Hamilton  College  in  1895,  and  from  the  Auburn  Theological 
Seminary  in  1898.  Toward  the  close  of  his  studies  his  thoughts 
were  drawn  to  the  foreign  field  and  he  became  a  ' '  student  vol- 
unteer." The  reason  for  his  decision  was  characteristic  of  the 
man.  As  he  himself  expressed  it  in  his  inimitable  five-minute 
speech  at  the  General  Synod :  "I  tried  in  every  possible  way 
to  avoid  going  to  the  foreign  field  but  I  had  no  peace.  I  go 
from  a  sense  of  obedience."  He  first  heard  of  the  special 
needs  of  Arabia  through  a  former  classmate  who  represented 
Union  Seminary  at  the  New  Brunswick  Inter-Seminary  Confer- 
ence in  November,  1897.  Shortly  after  he  wrote  for  informa- 
tion about  the  field,  and  without  further  hesitancy  he  applied 
and  was  accepted.  Ordained  by  the  Presbytery  of  Cayuga  at 
Syracuse,  he  sailed  with  the  mission  party  in  August,  1898. 

George  Stone  was  a  man  of  much  promise ;  altogether  a 
character  of  one  piece  without  seam  or  rent.  Sturdy,  manly, 
straightforward,  humble  and  honest  to  the  core.  He  was 
entirely  unconventional  and  did  not  know  what  it  was  to  try 
to  make  a  good  impression.  He  was  simply  natural.  With 
native  tact  and  Yankee  wit  was  joined  a  keen  sense  of  duty 
and  a  willingness  to  plod.     Confessing  that  he  was  never  in- 


372  /1RABIA,    THE  CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

tended  for  a  linguist  he  yet,  by  sheer  application,  made  remark- 
ably rapid  progress  in  Arabic.  He  made  friends  readily  and 
was  faithful  to  sow  beside  all  waters.  No  one  could  travel 
with  him  and  not  know  that  he  was  a  fisher  of  men ;  yet  he 
was  never  obtrusive  in  his  method.  He  had  a  splendid  con- 
stitution, and  looked  forward  to  a  long  life  in  Arabia,  but  God 
willed  otherwise. 

He  was  at  Bahrein  from  October  9th  until  February  14th, 
when  he  left  for  Muscat  to  take  the  place  of  Rev.  F.  J.  Barny, 
who  had  been  ill  with  typhoid  and  was  going  on  sick-leave  to 
India.  He  was  the  only  person  available  at  the  time,  although 
it  was  not  a  pleasant  task  for  a  novice  to  be  suddenly  called  to 
take  care  of  a  station  of  which  he  knew  little  more  than  the 
name.  Without  a  word  of  demur  he  left  Bahrein  at  three 
hours'  notice  and  sailed  for  Muscat.  There  he  remained  alone, 
but  faithful  unto  death,  until  June,  when  Rev.  James  Cantine 
arrived  to  take  charge  of  the  work.  His  letters  were  always 
cheerful ;  he  seemed  to  grasp  the  situation,  and  with  all  its 
difficulties  to  see  light  above  the  clouds.  The  following  sen- 
tences from  a  few  of  his  letters  show  what  sort  of  man  he  was. 
They  were  written  in  ordinary  correspondence  and  with  no  idea 
that  the  words  would  ever  be  treasured : 

"  I  was  pretty  certain  that  I  should  be  sent  to  Muscat  later 
on,  but  had  no  idea  of  going  so  soon.  However,  it  is  all  right. 
Anything  that  has  been  prayed  over  as  much  as  your  decisions 
at  Busrah,  must  have  been  directed  of  God,  and  I  have  been 
under  His  orders  for  some  time.  ...  I  have  had  two  or 
three  fevers,  but  they  are  small  affairs,  sick  one  day  and  well 
the  next.  No  further  news.  I  can  only  add  my  thankfulness 
to  God  for  the  way  He  has  led  me  through  the  last  two  months 
and  for  giving  me  a  share  from  the  beginning  in  actual  mission- 
work.  .  .  .  Many  thanks  for  the  report.  I  can  learn  a 
great  deal  from  it  to  help  out  my  ignorance.  I  do  feel  like  a 
baby  before  this  great  work  iDut,  as  the  darkies  used  to  sing, 
the  Lord  is  '  inching  me  along.' 


IN  MEMORUM—GEO.   E.  STONE  373 

"Pray  for  me  that  I  may  have  wisdom  and  grace  to  carry 
this  business  through.     I  want  it  settled  right." 

To  his  Auburn  friends  he  wrote  this  in  a  characteristic  letter  : 

"  You  ask  what  I  think  of  it  now  that  I  am  on  the  spot. 
First :  that  the  need  has  not  been  exaggerated,  and  that  Mo- 
hammedanism is  as  bad  as  it  is  painted.  Second  :  that  we 
have  a  splendid  fighting  chance  here  in  Arabia,  and  the  land 
is  open  enough  so  that  we  can  enter  if  we  will.  If  a  man 
never  got  beyond  the  Bahrein  Islands  he  would  have  a  parish 
of  50,000  souls.  Third  :  that  on  account  of  the  ignorance  of 
the  people  they  must  be  taught  by  word  of  mouth  and  there- 
fore if  we  are  to  reach  them  all,  we  must  have  many  helpers. 
Fourth  :  that  I  am  glad  I  came  to  Arabia,  and  that  to  me  has 
been  given  a  part  in  this  struggle.  I  do  firmly  believe  that  the 
strength  of  Islam  has  been  overestimated,  and  that  if  ever  the 
Church  can  be  induced  to  throw  her  full  weight  against  it,  it 
will  be  found  an  easier  conquest  than  we  imagine — nof  but 
what  it  ivill  cost  lives,  it  has  always  been  so,  but  I  do  believe 
that  Islam  is  doomed." 

Little  did  he  think,  perhaps,  whose  life  it  would  first  cost. 
Will  his  call  be  heeded  and  will  the  Church,  will  you,  help  to 
throw  the  whole  weight  of  your  prayers  against  Islam?  "  Ex- 
cept a  corn  of  wheat  fall  into  the  ground  and  die  it  abideth 
alone,  but  if  it  die  it  bringeth  forth  much  fruit." 

"  The  seed  must  die  before  the  corn  appears 
Out  of  the  ground  in  blade  and  fruitful  ears. 
Low  have  those  ears  before  the  sickle  lain, 
Ere  thou  canst  treasure  up  the  golden  grain. 
The  grain  is  crushed  before  the  bread  is  made ; 
And  the  bread  broke  ere  life  to  man  conveyed. 
Oh,  be  content  to  die,  to  be  laid  low, 
And  to  be  crushed,  and  to  be  broken  so, 
If  thou  upon  God's  table  may  be  bread, 
Life-giving  food  for  souls  an  hungered." 


XXXV 

PROBLEMS   OF   THE   ARABIAN   FIELD 

"  A  word  as  to  the  task  your  mission  attempts.  It  is  to  me  the  hardest 
in  the  whole  mission-field.  To  conquer  Mohammedanism  is  to  capture 
Satan's  throne  and  I  think  it  involves  the  greatest  conflict  Christianity  has 
ever  known.  In  attacking  Arabia  you  aim  at  the  citadel  of  supreme  error 
occupied  by  the  last  enemy  that  shall  bow  to  the  kingship  of  Christ." — 
Rev.  W.  A.  Essery,  Hon.  Secretary  of  the  Turkish  Mission  Aid  Society. 

"  While  the  difficulties  in  the  way  of  missionary  work  in  lands  under 
Mohammedan  rule  may  well  appear  to  the  eye  of  sense  most  formidable, 
this  meeting  is  firmly  persuaded,  that,  so  long  as  the  door  of  access  to  in- 
dividual Mohammedans  is  open,  so  long  it  is  the  clear  and  bounden 
duty  of  the  Church  of  Christ  to  make  use  of  its  opportunities  for  delivering 
the  gospel  message  to  them,  in  full  expectation  that  the  power  of  the 
Holy  Spirit  will,  in  God's  good  time,  have  a  signal  manifestation  in  the 
triumph  of  Christianity  in  those  lands." — Resolution  of  the  Church  Mis- 
sionary  Society,  May  ist,  1888. 

THE  problem  of  missionary  work  in  Arabia  is  twofold  :  (i) 
the  general  problem  of  Mohammedanism  as  a  political 
religious  system  which  Arabia  has  in  common  with  all  Moslem 
lands ;  and  (2)  the  special  problems  or  difficulties  which  per- 
tain to  Arabia  in  particular. 

The  general  problem  of  missions  to  Moslems  is  too  vast  and 
important  to  be  treated  here.  Dr.  George  Smith  says  that  "  the 
great  work  to  which  the  providence  of  God  summons  the  church 
in  the  second  century  of  modern  missions  is  that  of  evangeliz- 
ing the  Mohammedans."  It  is  the  missionary  problem  of  the 
future.  Dr.  H.  H.  Jessup,  who  speaks  of  it  as  "  a  work  of  sur- 
passing difficulty,  which  will  require  a  new  baptism  of  apostolic 
wisdom  and  energy,  faith  and  love"  gives  the  elements  of  the 
problem  in  his  book.^     As  unfavorable  features  he  enumerates, 

•The  Mohammedan  Missionary  Problem. — H.  H.  Jessup,  D.  D.,  1879. 

374 


PROBLEMS  OF  THE  ARABIAN  FIELD  375 

(i)  the  union  of  the  temporal  and  spiritual  power,  (2)  the 
divorce  between  morality  and  religion,  (3)  Ishmaelitic  intoler- 
ance, (4)  destruction  of  true  family  life,  (5)  the  degradation 
of  woman,  (6)  gross  immorality,  (7)  untruthfulness,  (8)  mis- 
representation of  Christian  doctrine,  and  (9)  the  aggressive 
spirit  of  Islam.  Among  the  favorable  features  he  names:  (i) 
belief  in  the  unity  of  God,  (2)  reverence  for  the  Old  and  New 
Testament,  (3)  and  for  Christ,  (4)  hatred  of  idolatry,  (5) 
abstinence  from  intoxicating  drink,  (6)  the  growing  influence 
of  Christian  nations,  (7)  the  universal  belief  of  the  Moslems 
that  in  the  latter  days  there  will  be  a  universal  apostasy  from 
Islam.  In  some  respects  the  problem  has  changed  since  Dr. 
Jessup's  book  was  written  but  in  its  main  outlines  it  remains  the 
same. 

The  problem  of  Arabia  as  a  mission-field  can  best  be  studied 
by  considering  in  order :  the  land  itself  as  regards  its  accessi- 
bility; the  climate  and  other  special  difficulties;  the  present 
missionary  force ;  the  methods  suited  to  the  field ;  and  the 
right  men  for  the  work.  The  chapters  on  the  geography  of 
the  peninsula  show  how  different  are  the  various  provinces  and 
what  are  the  strategic  centres  in  each.  It  is  generally  con- 
sidered both  a  good  missionary  policy  and  a  true  apostolic 
principle  to  work  out  from  the  cities  as  centres  of  population 
and  influence.  This  is  especially  necessary  in  Arabia  where 
the  population  is  scattered  and  largely  nomadic.  All  nomads 
come  to  some  city  or  village  for  their  supplies  at  frequent  inter- 
vals or,  if  they  are  independent  of  a  foreign  market,  they  bring 
their  produce  to  the  cities.      This  by  way  of  preface. 

First,  what  parts  of  Arabia  are  really  accessible  to  missionary 
operations?  (i)  The  Sinaitic  peninsula  with  the  adjoining 
coast  of  Hejaz  nearly  as  far  as  Yanbo ;  the  population  is  mostly 
Bedouin  but  a  good  centre  for  work  would  be  the  Egyptian 
quarantine  station  of  Tor  in  the  Gulf  of  Suez.  (2)  Aden  and 
the  surrounding  region  under  British  protection,  with  a  popu- 
lation of  perhaps  200,000  souls.      (3)  The  entire  south  coast 


376  ARABI/l,   THE   CRADLE   OF  ISLAM 

from  Aden  to  Makalla  and  Shehr  with  its  hinterland ;  this 
region  has  been  freely  visited  by  explorers  and  travellers,  men 
and  women ;  the  people  are  quite  friendly  and  the  natural  base 
of  operations  would  be  the  town  of  Makalla.  (4)  Oman  with 
its  coast-towns  and  hill-country,  everywhere  accessible;  wherever 
missionaries  have  tried  to  enter  they  have  met  with  a  welcome 
above  all  expectations.  (5)  The  so-called  "pirate-coast"  in 
East  Arabia  between  Ras  el  Kheima  and  Abu  Thubi ;  many 
villages,  all  under  British  subsidy  and  with  resident  native 
agents.     (6)  The  islands  of  Bahrein. 

All  of  these  regions  are  outside  of  Turkish  Arabia  and  are 
more  or  less  under  the  influence  of  Great  Britain  so  that  every 
kind  of  missionary  work  is  possible.  No  passports  are  required 
for  travelling;  no  special  diplomas  for  the  right  to  practice 
medicine ;  no  censorship  of  books ;  no  official  espionage  or 
prohibition  of  residence. 

In  Turkish  Arabia  the  case  is  different,  but  it  would  be  very 
incorrect  to  say  that  Turkish  Arabia  is  inaccessible,  "The 
Turks  are  no  doubt,"  as  General  Haig  remarks,  "a  great  ob- 
stacle, but  we  must  give  them  their  due,  and  admit  that  they 
are  not  nearly  so  intolerant  as  some  European  States,  including 
Russia."  Only  one  portion  of  Turkish  Arabia  seems,  at  pres- 
ent, to  be  absolutely  inaccessible,  namely,  the  two  sacred  cities 
Mecca  and  Medina.  At  present,  we  say,  for  it  does  not  seem 
possible  that  these  twin-cities  would  long  remain  closed  if  the 
church  had  faith  to  approach  their  doors  and  were  ready  to  enter. 

Other  portions  of  Turkish  Arabia  are  accessible,  at  least  to 
some  extent,  (i)  The  entire  coast  of  Hejaz  is  accessible;  two 
cities,  Jiddah,  and  Hodeidah,  are  specially  suited  for  medical 
mission  work  ;  while  it  is  not  at  all  improbable  that  with  proper 
faith  and  kindly  tact,  the  lovely  town  of  Taif,  that  garden  of 
Mecca,  would  harbor  a  medical  missionary.  Doughty's  ex- 
periences seem  to  indicate  that  Taif  is  not  considered  holy 
ground.'  (2)  Yemen,  the  Arabia  Felix  indeed;  with  a 
'  Vol.  II.,  pp.  503529. 


PROBLEMS  OF  THE  /IRABIAhl  FIELD  377 

splendid  climate,  a  superior  Arab  population,  numerous  villages 
and  cities,  and  with  marvellous  fertility  of  soil.  Surely  these 
highlands  will  not  remain  forever  under  the  rod  of  oppression ; 
when  the  hour  of  deliverance  comes,  every  village  should  have 
a  mission-school  and  every  city  a  mission-station.  Even  now 
under  the  Turk  work  is  possible  for  the  large  Jnvish  popula- 
tion. (3)  Hassa  with  its  capital  Hofhoof  and  Katif  on  the 
coast.  (4)  The  vilayets  of  Busrah  and  Bagdad.  These  four 
regions  in  Turkish  Arabia  are  accessible  with  three  limitations 
to  missionary- work  : — Every  missionary  must  have  proper  pass- 
ports ;  no  medical  missionary  can  practice  without  a  Constan- 
tinople diploma ;  and  no  books  or  Bibles  can  be  sold  unless 
they  have  been  examined  by  a  censor  of  the  press  and  bear  the 
seal  of  the  government.  The  passport  matter  is  awkward  at 
times  but  is  not  an  insurmountable  barrier ;  where  the  govern- 
ment considers  travelling  safe,  passports  are  always  given.  The 
medical  diploma  requirement  is  not  different  from  the  law  of 
France  and  other  countries ;  once  in  possession  of  such  a  di- 
ploma, the  leverage  power  of  the  Christian  physician  is  in- 
creased rather  than  limited.  The  third  restriction  prevents  the 
distribution  of  all  controversial  literature  but  admits  the  Bible 
and  many  other  Christian  books ;  it  is  rather  burdensome  and 
irritating  to  one's  patience  but  does  not  shut  the  door  to  real 
missionary  work.  Every  copy  of  the  Arabic  Scriptures  printed 
at  Beirut  bears  the  imprimatur  of  the  Ottoman  Government^ 
the  sign  and  seal  of  the  "  Caliph  "  that  the  Word  of  God  shall 
have  free  course  in  his  tottering  empire. 

Finally  there  is  the  vast  interior — Asir,  Nejran,  Yemama, 
Nejd,  Jebel  Shammar — is  that  too  accessible?  The  whole 
region  is  free  from  Ottoman  rule  and,  for  the  greater  part,  un- 
der one  independent  prince,  Abd-ul-Aziz,  the  successor  of  Ibn 
Rashid.  But  for  the  rest  the  question  must  remain  unanswered 
until  a  missionary  has  attempted  to  enter  these  regions  and 
has  brought  back  a  report.  For  travellers  the  whole  of  the  in- 
terior has  proved   accessible  since  the  days  of  Palgrave ;  and 


378  /IRABU,    THE   CRADLE   OF  ISLAM 

the  presumptive  evidence  is  that  a  missionary  could  also  pene- 
trate everywhere  even  if  he  were  not  at  first  allowed  to  settle  in 
any  of  the  towns.  I  have  not  the  least  doubt  that  a  properly 
qualified  medical  missionary  with  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the 
language  would  find  not  only  an  open  door  but  a  warm  wel- 
come in  the  capital  of  Nejd  or  even  at  Riad. 

Regarding  the  general  accessibility  of  Arabia,  General  Haig 
wrote  in  his  report  as  follows  :  "  There  is  no  difficulty  then 
about  preaching  the  gospel  in  Arabia  if  men  can  be  found  to 
face  the  consequences.  The  real  difficulty  would  be  the  pro- 
tection of  the  converts.  Most  probably  they  would  be  exposed 
to  violence  and  death.  The  infant  church  might  be  a  martyr 
church  at  first,  like  that  of  Uganda,  but  that  would  not  prevent 
the  spread  of  the  truth  or  its  ultimate  triumph." 

The  climate  of  Arabia  is,  at  present,  an  obstacle  to  mission- 
ary work,  but  in  the  mountain  ranges  of  Oman  and  Yemen  as 
well  as  in  all  the  interior  plateau  of  Nejd  a  healthful,  bracing 
climate  prevails.  Now,  alas,  while  all  work  is  still  confined  to 
the  coast,  we  have  perhaps  one  of  the  most  trying  climates  in 
the  world.  The  intense  heat  of  summer  (often  i  io°  Fahrenheit 
in  the  shade)  is  aggravated  by  the  humidity  of  the  atijiosphere, 
and  the  dust  raised  by  every  wind.  In  the  winter,  from  De- 
cember to  March,  the  winds  in  the  northern  part  of  the  gulf 
and  the  Red  Sea,  are  often  cold  and  cutting  and  although  the 
temperature  is  more  suited  at  that  time  to  Europeans  and 
Americans,  it  appears  to  be  less  healthy  for  natives.  The  so- 
called  gulf-fever  of  the  remittent  type  is  very  dangerous  and 
convalescence  is  at  times  only  possible  by  leaving  the  gulf. 
Cholera  and  smallpox  are  not  uncommon.  Ophthalmia  is  rife. 
Prickly  heat  in  aggravated  form,  boils,  and  all  the  insect 
plagues  of  Egypt  are  a  cause  of  suffering  in  their  season. 

Moslem  fanaticism  is  not  peculiar  to  Arabia  nor  is  it  more 
intense  or  universal  here  than  in  any  other  purely  Mohammedan 
land.  The  fanaticism  of  the  Arabs  has  been  grossly  exagger- 
ated.     The  Wahabis  represent  the  extreme  of  exclusiveness 


PROBLEMS  OF  THE   ARABIAN  FIELD  379 

and  prejudice,  but  even  among  them  it  is  possible  for  a  mis- 
sionary to  preach  Christ  and  read  the  Bible.  Personal  violence 
to  the  messenger  of  the  gospel  has  proved  in  ten  years  experi- 
ence, almost  unknown  in  any  part  of  Arabia  visited  by  mis- 
sionaries. Sometimes  Bibles  and  books  are  collected  by  a 
fanatical  Mullah  and  consigned  to  the  flames  or  the  oblivion  of 
an  upper  shelf  in  his  house.  The  fellows  of  the  baser  sort 
perpetrate  insults  and  annoyances  at  times  in  village-work  or 
refuse  hospitality.  But  we,  in  Arabia,  have  never  met  with 
the  strong  anti-foreign  feeling  such  as  seems  to  be  prevalent, 
for  example,  in  China.  The  prejudice  is  seldom  against  the 
dress  or  manner  or  speech  of  the  foreigner ;  even  his  food  is 
considered  clean  and  no  Arab  would  refuse  to  share  his  meal 
with  a  Christian  traveller.  But  there  is  often  a  strong  preju- 
dice against  certain  aspects  of  Christian  doctrine,  especially  if 
crudely  or  unwisely  put.  In  an  Arab  coffee-shop  it  would  be 
unsafe  as  well  as  unwise  to  use  the  words  "Son  of  God," 
"death  of  Christ,"  "Trinity"  etc.,  without  a  previous  expla- 
nation. Yet  on  the  whole  the  Arabs  are  friendly  to  any  stran- 
ger or  guest  and  this  friendliness  is  especially  strong  toward 
Englishmen  and  on  the  coast,  because  of  the  clear  contrast  be- 
tween English  and  Ottoman  or  Arab  rule.  Commerce  too  with 
its  general  integrity  and  "  the  word  of  an  Englishman  "  has  in 
a  sense  been  the  handmaid  of  missions  by  disarming  prejudice 
and  opening  Arab  eyes  to  the  superiority  of  western  civilization. 

From  a  missionary  standpoint  the  population  of  Arabia  can 
best  be  divided  into  the  illiterate  and  those  who  can  read. 
The  former  class  are  in  the  vast  majority  and  include  all  the 
Bedouins  with  exceedingly  few  exceptions.  Taking  the  popu- 
lation at  eight  million,  to  say  that  one  half  a  million  could  read 
would  be  a  large  estimate.  On  this  account  work  for  those 
who  are  able  to  read,  by  means  of  colportage  and  book- 
shops, may  be  too  highly  rated  as  to  its  extensive  result ;  its 
intensive  value  no  one  will  question. 

The  problem  of  reaching  the  nomad  population  is  a  very  serious 


380 


ARABIyl,    THE  CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 


one.  The  data  for  a  correct  theory  of  work  among  them  are 
yet  to  be  collected.  Experience  of  work  among  them  has  been 
very  limited  ;  indeed  the  only  work  of  importance  was  that  of 
Samuel  Van  Tassel  in  North  Arabia.  As  a  class  they  are  less 
religious  than  the  town  or  agricultural  Arabs.  One  who  has 
studied  the  subject  writes  :  "  The  Arabs  [Bedouins]  remain  Mo- 
hammedans simply  because  they  know  of  nothing  better ;  the 
Bedouins  are  Moslems  only  in  name  observing  the  prescribed 
forms  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  towns,  but  speedily  casting 


Population  Touched  by  Mission  Effort. 
Adan,  etc.,     .     100,000.     Muscat       ....     20,000 
Bahrein     .     .       60,000.     Busrah  and  Bagdad,   520,000 

them  aside  on  regaining  the  desert.  Yet  there  are  men  among 
them  not  without  reverent  thoughts  of  the  Creator,  derived 
from  the  contemplation  of  His  works,  thoughts  which,  accord- 
ing to  Palmer,  take  sometimes  the  form  of  solemn  but  simple 
prayer."  The  character  of  missionary  work  among  this  nomad 
population  (perhaps  one-fourth  or  fifth  of  the  population  of  the 
peninsula)  will  be  very  similar  to  that  of  James  Gilmour  among 
the  Mongols ;  and  it  will  require  men  of  his  stamp  to  carry  it 
on  successfully. 


PROBLEMS  OF  THE  ARABIAN  FIELD 


381 


The  present  missionary  force  in  Arabia  is  utterly  inadequate 
to  supply  the  jteeds  even  of  that  portion  of  the  f  eld  which  they 
have  occupied.  There  are  only  four  points  on  a  coast  of  four 
thousand  miles  where  there  are  missionaries.  There  is  not  a  single 
missionary  over  ten  miles  inland  from  this  coast.  No  mission- 
ary has  ever  crossed  the  peninsula  in  either  direction.  The 
total  number  of  foreign  missionaries  in  Arabia,  is  less  than  a 
dozen — twelve  workers,  men  and  women,  let  us  say,  for  a  pop- 
ulation of  8,000,000  souls. 


Area  Occupied  by  Missionaries. 

Adan,  etc.,  8,000  square  miles.     Muscat 600  square  miles. 

Bahrein  ,        400      "  •'  Busrah  and  Bagdad,  71,000     "  " 

The  Keith  Falconer  Mission  is  not  as  strong  in  its  numbers 
as  when  Keith  Falconer  died.  The  Arabian  Mission  has  only 
recently  received  enough  reinforcement  to  man  its  three  stations 
permanently.  There  has  been  too  much  of  the  spirit  of  ex- 
periment instead  of  the  spirit  of  enterprise  ;  a  corporal's  guard 
went  out  to  attack  the  chief  citadel  of  the  enemy.  Bishop 
French  was  alone  when  he  died  at  Muscat.  The  Arabian 
Mission  waited  years  before  they  received  reinforcements. 
What  is  the  spiritual  need  of  Arabia  to-day  ?     Of  the  total  area 


382  ARABIA,   THE  CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

of  the  peninsula  only  about  one-twelfth  is  in  any  way  reached 
by  missionary  effort.  This  does  not  mean  that  one-twelfth  of  the 
area  is  covered  by  mission-stations  and  touring,  but  that  in 
some  way  or  other  about  one-twelfth  of  the  peninsula  is  "oc- 
cupied" by  organized  mission-work  in  its  plan  and  purpose, 
day  by  day.  As  to  the  proportion  of  missionaries  to  the  popu- 
lation ten  men  out  of  eleven  have  no  opportunity  in  this  neglected 
country  to  hear  the  gospel  even  if  they  would. 

The  only  part  of  Arabia  that  is  fairly  well  occupied  is  the 
River-country — that  is  the  two  vilayets  of  Bagdad  and  Busrah. 
Here  there  are  two  stations  and  two  out-stations  on  the  rivers ; 
colporteurs  and  missionaries  regularly  visit  the  larger  villages ; 
several  native  workers  are  in  regular  employ  and  the  Bible 
Society  is  active.  Yet  in  these  two  vilayets  nothing  has  ever 
yet  been  done  for  the  large  Bedouin  population,  and  there  are 
only  six  foreign  missionaries,  men  and  women,  to  a  population 
(Turkish  census)  of  1,050,000  souls. 

Looking  at  Arabia  by  provinces :  Hejaz  has  no  missionary ; 
Yemen  (with  the  exception  of  Sheikh  Othman  and  Aden)  has 
no  missionary ;  Hadramaut  has  no  missionary ;  Nejd  has  no 
missionary ;  Hassa  has  no  missionary ;  Jebel  Shammar  and  all 
the  northern  desert  has  no  missionary ;  Oman  has  one  mission- 
ary. Again,  the  following  towns  and  cities  are  accessible,  but 
have  not  one  witness  for  Christ :  Sana,  Hodeidah,  Menakha, 
Zebid,  Damar,  Taiz,  Ibb,  with  forty  smaller  towns  in  Yemen ; 
Makallah,  Shehr,  and  Shibam  in  Hadramaut ;  Rastak,  Someil, 
Sohar,  Sur,  Abu  Thubi,  Dabai,  Sharka  and  other  important 
towns  in  Oman ;  not  to  speak  of  the  important  towns  of  Nejd 
and  in  Mesopotamia,  still  without  any  missionaries  and  never 
visited  by  an  evangelist. 

Arabia  is  in  truth  a  neglected  field,  even  now.  Thus  far  the 
work  has  been  really  preliminary ;  the  evangelization  of  Arabia 
must  yet  begin ;  not  until  every  province  is  entered  and  every 
one  of  the  strategic  points  specified  is  occupied  can  we  truly 
speak  of  Arabia  as  a  mission-field.     Nor  is  the  project  vision- 


PROBLEMS  OF  THE  ARABIAN  FIELD  383 

ary.  Given  the  men  and  the  means  there  is  not  the  sHghtest 
reason  why  the  next  decade  should  not  see  the  entire  peninsula 
the  field  for  some  sort  of  missionary  effort.  The  doors  are 
open,  or  they  will  open  to  the  knock  of  faith.  God  still  lives 
and  works. 

Regarding  the  best  methods  of  mission-work  in  Arabia  the 
experience  of  missionaries  in  other  Moslem  lands  is  of  the 
greatest  value.  The  story  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society 
in  the  Punjab,  that  of  the  North  Africa  Mission,  and  above  all 
the  work  of  the  Rhenish  Society  in  Sumatra  should  be  thor- 
oughly familiar  to  every  Arabian  missionary.  Medical  missions 
have  their  special  place  and  power,  but  also  their  special  diffi- 
culties in  pioneer  work  like  that  in  Arabia.  Surgery  is  worth 
infinitely  more  than  medicine  among  a  people  like  the  Arabs, 
where  fatalism  and  neglect  of  the  sick  make  the  science  of 
medicine  of  doubtful  result  in  so  many  cases.  "  Kill  or  cure" 
rather  than  prolonged  treatment,  suits  the  Moslem  palate.  But 
a  skillful  surgeon  with  a  Turkish  diploma  holds  the  key  to 
every  door  in  the  entire  peninsula.  There  is  not  one  mission- 
hospital  in  Arabia  !  Surely  such  centres  as  Bagdad,  Busrah, 
Bahrein,  Sana,  Jiddah,  Hodeidah  and  Hofhoof  should  have 
these  acknowledged  powerful  methods  of  evangelization.  At 
Aden  and  Muscat  there  are  Indian  Government  hospitals. 

Educational  work  is  still  absent  or  in  its  infancy  as  regards 
the  Moslem  population,  so  that  there  are  no  data  from  which  to 
formulate  theories  as  to  their  success.  In  some  parts  of  Arabia 
schools  might  not  be  permitted  by  the  government ;  every- 
where they  would  necessarily  at  the  outset  be  very  elementary. 

Christian  women,  as  experience  has  proved  both  in  Yemen 
and  East  Arabia,  are  welcomed  everywhere.  With  or  without 
medical  qualifications,  but  with  hearts  of  love  and  sympathy 
for  the  poor,  the  suffering  and  the  miserable,  they  can  enter 
every  house  or  hut.  Even  in  the  black  tents  of  Kedar  there 
are  aching  hearts  and  wretched  homes  to  which  the  gospel  of 
peace  and  love  can  alone  bring  relief.     Lady  Ann  Blunt  and 


384  ARABM,   THE   CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

Mrs.  Theodore  Bent  have  proved  what  women  can  do  in  Arabia 
for  the  sake  of  science ;  will  there  be  no  Christian  women  who 
will  penetrate  as  far  inland  for  the  sake  of  their  Saviour  ? 

Colportage  is  an  approved  mission-method  especially  in 
Arabia,  since  the  Bible  and  a  full  line  of  educational  and  re- 
ligious literature  is  ready  to  our  hand  from  the  Syrian  and 
Egyptian  missions.  In  Yemen  this  work  would  be  especially 
useful  and  practicable,  but  there  it  has  scarcely  been  attempted 
systematically.  The  problem  is  to  find  men  of  the  right  stamp 
for  the  work.  Men  who  are  "  willing  to  endure  hardness  as 
good  soldiers  of  Jesus  Christ,"  with  tact  and  good  temper  and 
the  ability  to  talk  with  the  simple-minded.  Love  is  worth 
more  than  learning  in  a  colporteur.  Good  health  and  a  clean 
Turkish  passport  are  two  other  requisites.  Even  this  method 
of  work  is  in  its  infancy ;  there  are  many  open  doors  for  the 
Word  of  God  that  have  never  yet  been  entered. 

Under  evangelistic  work  come  the  problems  of  street-preach- 
ing, touring,  and  the  use  or  abuse  of  controversy.  The  best 
place  for  preaching  at  stations  is  the  mission-house  itself,  after 
the  example  of  Paul  (Acts  xxviii.  30,  31).  On  tours  or  in 
village-work  the  mejlts  of  the  sheikh  or  the  public  coffee-shop 
makes  a  capital  pulpit.  In  a  small  hand-book  for  missionaries 
to  Moslems  by  Rev.  Arthur  Brinckman,  now  out  of  print,^  I 
find  the  following  admirable  hints  on  public  preaching  to  Mos- 
lems which  apply  to  Arabia  also  : 

"  If  possible  always  address  your  audience  from  above.  Sit- 
ting down  is  sometimes  better  than  standing ;  you  are  not  so 
likely  to  get  excited,  the  attitude  is  less  war -like  in  appearance. 
Be  with  your  back  to  a  wall  if  possible ;  there  are  many  rea- 
sons for  this. 

"  When  drawn  into  argument,  keep  on  praying  that  you  may 
speak  slowly,  and  with  effect.  When  asked  a  question  do  not 
answer  quickly — if  you  do,  you  will  be  looked  on  as  a  sharp 

'  Notes  on  Islam  :  A  Hand-book  for  Missionaries. — Rev.  Arthur  Brinck- 
man, London,  1868. 


THE    BIBLE   SHOP   AT    BUSRAH 


INTERIOR   OF    A    NATIVE   SHOP 


PROBLEMS  OF  THE  ARABIAN  FIELD  385 

controversialist  only ;  think  over  your  answer  first,  and  give  it 
most  kindly  and  slowly.  If  possible  always  quote  a  passage 
near  the  beginning  or  end  of  a  Koran  chapter  and  there  will 
be  less  delay  in  finding  it." 

The  question  of  the  right  place  of  controversy  or  whether  it 
should  have  a  place  at  all  in  mission-work  among  Moslems  is  of 
the  highest  importance.  Opinions  differ  decidedly  among  those 
who  are  pillars  of  the  truth.  The  best  and  briefest  argument 
against  the  use  of  controversy  is  that  given  by  Spurgeon  in  one 
of  his  early  sermons  at  New  Park  Street  Chapel.*  He  argues  in 
brief  that  a  missionary  is  a  witness,  not  a  debater,  and  is  only 
responsible  for  proclaiming  the  gospel  by  his  lips  and  by  his  life. 

There  is  truth  in  this,  but  on  the  other  hand  even  the  apos- 
tles "disputed"  in  the  synagogues  with  the  Jews,  and  from 
the  days  of  saintly  Martyn  (not  to  say  Raymond  Lull),  until 
now,  the  Christian  missionary  has  been  compelled  by  the  very 
force  of  circumstances  to  vindicate  the  honor  of  Christ  and 
establish  the  evidences  of  Christianity  by  means  of  controversy. 
When,  in  July,  1864,  the  Turkish  government  persuaded  Sir 
Henry  Bulwer  to  sign  the  death-warrant  to  all  missionary  work 
among  Moslems  in  the  Turkish  empire  by  the  memorandum 
that  made  controversy  a  crime,  the  fact  was  immediately  rec- 
ognized. Rev.  J.  Ridge  way,  then  the  editorial  secretary  of  the 
Church  Missionary  Society,  wrote  an  able  paper  in  the  Church 
Missionary  Intellige7icer  on  the  theme  :  "  Missionary  work  as 
regards  Mohammedans  impossible  if  controversy  be  interdicted^ 
"By  controversy,"  he  wrote,  "  we  understand  not  acrimonious 
and  irritating  recriminations,  which,  well  aware  how  unbecom- 
ing and  injurious  they  are,  the  missionaries  have  always 
eschewed,  but  that  calm  investigation  of  conflicting  religious 
systems  that  is  indispensable  to  the  decision  of  the  important 
question — which  is  true  and  which  is  false  ?  "  ^ 

'  Reprinted  in  "  North  Africa  "  (April,  1892),  under  the  title  :  Preach- 
ing, not  Controversy. 
2  History  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society,  Vol.  II.,  p.  155. 


386  AR/IBM,   THE  CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

It  is  only  in  this  sense  that  controversy  is  justifiable ;  and 
this  kind  of  controversy,  whether  by  the  printed  page  or  word 
of  mouth,  has  not  proved  unfruitful  of  good  results.  Sir 
William  Muir  gives  a  complete  synopsis  of  all  Mohammedan 
attacks  on  the  Christian  faith  and  the  replies  made  in  defence 
of  Christianity ;  his  criticisms  of  the  books  in  question  are  also 
of  great  interest.  Since  that  date  there  have  been  new  attacks 
and  new  apologies  both  from  the  Moslem  side  and  from  that  of 
the  missionary.  As  a  plough  breaks  up  the  soil  before  the 
seed  is  sown  so  this  kind  of  literature  and  argument  will  often 
break  up  the  fallow  ground  of  Moslem  hearts  for  the  seed  of 
God's  Word.  Even  awakened  fanaticism  or  active  opposition 
is  more  hopeful  than  absolute  stagnation  of  thought  and  petri- 
faction of  feeling.  How  to  awaken  the  Moslem  conscience  is 
the  real  problem. 

It  is  less  important  to  consider  the  attitude  of  the  Turkish 
empire  toward  Christians  than  the  attitude  of  the  Moslem  mind 
toward  Christianity,  as  regards  Arabia's  evangelization.^  The 
prevailing  attitude  of  the  Moslem  mind,  in  any  particular  part 
of  Arabia,  toward  Christianity  practically  decides  the  fate  of  a 
convert.  Were  Moslems  all  strictly  adherent  to  their  traditions 
and  the  law  regarding  renegades  from  Islam,  every  convert 
would  be  a  martyr  and  every  inquirer  would  disappear.  The 
Ottoman  code  of  Moslem  law  gives  specific  directions  for  the 
trial  and  execution  of  the  renegade  from  the  faith.  "  He  is  to 
have  three  distinct  offers  of  life  if  he  will  return  to  the  faith 
and  time  for  reflection,  after  each  offer,  is  to  be  given  him. 
If  he  remains  obdurate  he  is  to  be  executed  by  strangulation 
and  then  his  head  is  to  be  cut  off  and  placed  under  his  arm. 
His  body  is  thus  to  be  exposed  three  days  in  the  most  public 
place."  ^  But,  thank  God,  Moslems  do  not  strictly  adhere  to 
this  law.     In  this,  as  in  other  respects,  many  are  better  than 

>  The  Mohammedan  Controversy  and  other  articles. — Sir  Wm.  Muir, 
Edinburgh,  1897. 

^Missionary  Review,  October,  1893,   p.   727,  in  article   by   "  C.   II." 


PROBLEMS  OF  THE  ARABIAN  FIELD  387 

their  religion  and  superior  to  their  prophet.  Converts  in  that 
part  of  Arabia  which  is  under  English  rule  or  protection  are  as 
safe  as  they  are  in  India ;  which  does  not  mean  that  they  are 
entirely  free  from  persecution.  In  Turkish  Arabia  the  law  is 
carried  out  by  secret  murder,  or  by  banishment ;  yet  not  in 
every  case,  for  even  there  inquirers  and  converts,  if  not  active 
or  prominent,  have  remained  for  a  time  unmolested.  What 
the  result  would  be  in  the  independent  Moslem  states  of  Arabia 
we  do  not  know. 

The  Berlin  Treaty  was  intended  to  be  the  Magna  Charta  of 
Christian  liberty  in  the  Turkish  empire,  but  the  Turk  has  not 
kept  the  compact.  Its  provisions  were  too  galling  to  Moslem 
pride  and  prestige ;  reforms  never  got  beyond  the  paper  stage. 
The  massacres  of  1894  to  1896  proved  that  the  Sultan  is  still 
the  Pope  of  a  religious  fraternity  and  king  of  a  political  empire 
based  on  the  forty-seventh  chapter  of  the  Koran  :  "  When  ye 
encounter  the  unbelievers  strike  off  their  heads  until  you  have 
made  a  great  slaughter  of  them."  And  the  inaction  of  all  the 
Christian  powers  at  that  time  proved  that  it  is  vain  to  put  con- 
fidence in  princes.  But  in  spite  of  all  possible  government  op- 
position or  even  the  martyrdom  of  every  individual  convert 
"so  long  as  the  door  of  access  to  individual  Mohammedans  is 
open,  so  long  it  is  the  clear  and  bounden  duty  of  the  church 
of  Christ  to  make  use  of  its  opportunities  for  delivering  the 
gospel  message  to  them." 

The  attitude  of  the  Arab  mind  is  not  universally  hostile  to 
Christianity.  The  vast  majority  are  indifferent  to  religion  in 
any  form.  "What  shall  we  eat  and  what  shall  we  drink  and 
wherewithal  shall  we  be  clothed," — is  the  sum  of  all  their 
thoughts.  The  Arab  merchant  serves  Mammon  with  all  his 
heart  seven  days  a  week.  Religion  is  an  ornament  and  a  con- 
ventionality ;  he  wears  it  like  his  flowing  overgarment  and  it 
fits  him  just  as  loosely.  He  thinks  it  scarcely  worth  while  to 
discuss  questions  of  belief.  Every  one  has  their  own  religion, 
is  a  remark  one  often  hears  in  Arabia.    It  is  a  faint  echo  of  the 


388  /iRABIA,   THE  CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

all-e]iibracing  tolerance  of  the  days  of  ignorance  when  three 
hundred  and  sixty  idols,  including  an  image  of  Christ  and  the 
virgin,  filled  the  Kaaba  ! 

Then  there  are  some  thoughtful  men  who  know  better, — 
seekers  after  truth, — and  who  feel  that  there  are  strong  points 
in  Christianity  and  weak  points  in  Islam  which  have  not  been 
duly  considered.  One  meets  examples  of  this  class  every- 
where in  all  stations  of  life  and  in  most  unexpected  quarters. 
In  the  heart  of  Yemen  I  met  a  Mullah  who  had  a  wonderful 
knowledge  of  the  Arabic  Bible ;  and  the  copy  he  showed  me 
was  an  imperfect  translation  by  Richard  Watson  dated  1825  ! 
Another  prominent  Mohammedan  in  Eastern  Arabia  recently 
expressed  his  opinion  that  the  Christ  of  the  New  Testament 
never  intended  to  found  a  new  religion,  but  to  introduce 
everywhere  spiritual  worship  of  the  God  of  Abraham  ;  he  said 
that  a  long  and  independent  study  of  the  Bible  had  led  him 
to  this  opinion. 

The  steady  increase  of  the  circulation  of  Scriptures  in  Arabia 
is  also  an  indication  which  way  the  current  is  drifting.  Rev. 
George  E.  Stone,  a  few  weeks  before  his  death,  writing  of  the 
Bible  circulation  at  Muscat  said,  "  I  don't  know  when  the  ex- 
plosion is  coming  but  we  are  getting  the  dynamite  under  this 
rock  of  Islam  and  some  day  God  will  touch  it  off."  The 
Bible  in  Arabia  will  indeed  prove  its  power  in  changing  the  en- 
tire attitude  of  the  Moslem  mind.  "  Is  not  my  word  like  as 
a  fire?  saith  the  Lord;  and  like  a  hammer  that  breaketh  the 
rock  in  pieces  ? " 

Finally  there  is  the  problem  of  securing  the  right  men  for 
the  work.  So  hard  is  the  field  in  many  ways  and  so  hard  are 
Moslem  hearts  that  the  description  of  Aaron  Matthews'  ideal 
missionary  for  the  Jews  would  apply  to  the  Arabs  as  well,  (the 
last  clause  omitted).  He  wrote  :  "A  Jewish  missionary  re- 
quires Abraham's  faith,  Job's  patience,  the  meekness  of  Moses, 
the  strength  of  Samson,  the  wisdom  of  Solomon,  the  love  of 
John,  the  zeal  of  Paul,  the  knowledge  of  the  Scripture  of  Timo- 


PROBLEMS  OF  THE  ARABI/IN  FIELD  389 

thy,  and  a  little  bit  of  Baron  Rothschild's  pocket."  The  finan- 
cial part  of  the  equipment  is  not  essential  on  the  part  of  the 
missionary ;  he  should  be  content  with  food  and  raiment.  The 
less  display  of  Baron  Rothschild's  pocket  the  better,  in  a  land 
where  people  go  to  bed  hungry  and  where  all  live  in  the  great- 
est simplicity. 

The  candidate  for  missionary  work  in  Arabia  should  have  a 
strong  and  sound  constitution.  He  should  know  how  to 
"  rough  it  "  when  necessary ;  the  more  of  the  Bohemian  there 
is  in  his  nature  the  better.  He  should  have  both  ability  and 
dogged  determination  enough  to  acquire  the  Arabic  lan- 
guage. Other  scholarship  is  useful  but  not  necessary.  To  get 
along  well  with  the  Arabs  he  should  have  patience.  And 
to  avoid  wearing  himself  out,  a  good  temper;  a  man  with  a 
very  hot  temper  could  never  stand  three  seasons  in  the  Persian 
Gulf.  Regarding  spiritual  qualifications  I  cannot  do  better  than 
quote  the  solemn  words  at  the  close  of  General  Haig's  paper  on 
"Arabia  as  a  mission-field."  I  believe  they  deserve  to  be  re- 
peated not  only  for  the  sake  of  those  who  se?id  missionaries  to 
Arabia,  but  for  the  sake  of  those  who  are  missionaries  to 
Arabia.     It  is  a  high  ideal. 

"  Given  the  right  men,  and  Arabia  may  be  won  for  Christ ; 
start  with  the  wrong  men,  and  little  will  be  accomplished. 
But  what  qualifications  are  needed  !  what  enthusiasm,  what 
fire  of  love,  what  dogged  resolution,  what  uttermost  self-sacri- 
ficing zeal  for  the  salvation  of  men  and  the  glory  of  Christ  ! 
But  upon  this  point  I  prefer  to  quote  here  the  words  of  a  man 
who  is  preeminently  qualified  to  speak  upon  the  subject. 
Three  years  ago  he  wrote  to  me  : 

"  '  Unless  you  have  missionaries  so  full  of  the  spirit  of  Christ 
that  they  count  not  their  own  lives  dear  to  them,  you  will  prob- 
ably look  in  vain  for  converts  who  will  be  prepared  to  lose 
their  lives  in  the  Master's  service.  In  a  relaxing  tropical  cli- 
mate, like  that  of  Aden,  circumstances  are  very  unfavorable 
for  the  development   of  self-denying  character,  or  of  energetic 


390  ARABIA,   THE  CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

service.  No  small  amount  of  grace  would  be  needed  to  sustain 
it ;  for  we  are  compound  beings,  and  there  is  a  wonderful  re- 
action of  the  body  upon  the  soul,  as  well  as  of  the  soul  upon 
the  body.  It  is  supremely  important,  then,  in  an  enterprise 
like  yours,  to  have  the  right  stamp  of  men — men  who  have 
made  some  sacrifices,  and  who  do  not  count  sacrifice  to  be 
sacrifice,  but  privilege  and  honor — men  who  do  not  know 
what  discouragemetit  means,  and  men  who  expect  great  things 
from  God.  Such  alone  will  prove  really  successful  workers  in 
a  field  so  replete  with  difficulty.  Unless  Eternity  bulks  very 
largely  in  the  estimation  of  a  man,  how  can  he  encourage  a 
native  convert  to  take  a  step  that  will  at  once  destroy  all  his 
hopes  and  prospects  of  an  earthly  character,  and  possibly  re- 
sult in  imprisonment,  and  torture,  and  death  itself?  and  unless 
you  have  men  who  are  prepared,  should  God  seem  to  call  for  it,  to 
lead  their  converts  into  circumstances  of  such  danger  and  trial, 
it  is  not  very  likely  that  they  will  find  converts  who  will  go 
very  much  in  advance  of  themselves.  Men  of  this  stamp  are 
not  to  be  mamifactured ;  they  are  God-made.  They  are  not 
to  be  found;  they  must  be  God-sought  and  God-given.  But 
the  Master  who  has  need  of  them  is  able  to  provide  them. 
Nothing  is  too  hard  for  the  Lord.'  " 

"  Pray  ye  therefore  the  Lord  of  the  harvest  that  He  would 
thrust  forth  laborers  into  His  harvest^ 


XXXVI 

THE  OUTLOOK   FOR   MISSIONS   TO   MOSLEMS 

"  Take  it  at  its  very  worst.  They  are  dead  lands  and  dead  souls, 
blind  and  cold  and  stiff  in  death  as  no  heathen  are ;  but  we  who  love 
them  see  the  possibilities  of  sacrifice,  of  endurance  of  enthusiasm  of  life, 
not  yet  effaced.  Does  not  the  Son  of  God  who  died  for  them  see  these 
possibilities  too  ?  Do  you  think  He  says  of  the  Mohammedan,  'There  is 
no  help  for  him  in  his  God  '  ?  Has  He  not  a  challenge  too  for  your  faith,  the 
challenge  that  rolled  away  the  stone  from  the  grave  where  Lazarus  lay  ? 
'  Said  I  not  unto  thee,  that,  if  thou  wouldst  believe  thou  shouldst  see  the 
glory  of  God  ?  Then  they  took  away  the  stone  from  the  place  where  the 
dead  was  laid.'  " — /.  Lilias  Trotter,  (missionary  to  Algiers). 

'"p^WO  views  are  widely  prevalent  regarding  the  hopelessness 
-'■  of  missionary  work  among  Moslems  generally,  and  al- 
though these  views  are  diametrically  opposite  they  are  agreed 
that  it  is  waste  of  time  and  effort  to  go  to  Mohammedan  lands, 
that  it  is  a  forlorn  hope  at  best.  The  first  view  is  that  of  those 
who  are  themselves  outside  of  the  kingdom,  and  who  shut  its 
doors  against  the  Moslem,  saying  :  Experience  has  proved 
it  to  be  not  only  useless  but  dangerous  to  meddle  with  the 
Moslem  and  his  religion.  Their  faith  is  good  enough  for 
them  ;  it  is  suited  to  their  ways.  They  do  not  worship  idols 
and  have  a  code  of  morality  suitable  to  the  Orient.  Moham- 
med was  a  prophet  of  God  and  did  all  that  could  be  done  for 
these  kind  of  people.  Every  attempt  to  convert  them  ends  in 
failure.  Let  them  alone.  Islam  will  work  out  its  own  refor- 
mation. Some,  like  Canon  Taylor  and  Doctor  Blyden,  who 
profess  to  be  Christians,  even  consider  Islam  the  handmaid  of 
Christianity  and  specially  fitted  for  the  whole  Negro  race.^ 

•  Christianity,  Islam  and  the  Negro  Race,  by  E.  W.  Blyden,  London^ 
1888. 

391 


392  ARABM,    THE  CRADLE   OF  ISLAM 

The  opposite  view  is  that  Mohammedanism  is  not  too  hope- 
ful to  be  meddled  with  but  too  hopeless  !  They  who  hold  it 
profess  to  believe  in  the  Holy  Ghost  as  the  Lord  and  Life-Giver 
for  the  heathen  world,  but  hesitate  when  it  comes  to  Islam. 
The  Moslem  is,  they  say,  wrapped  up  in  self-righteousness  and 
conceit ;  even  those  whose  fanaticism  is  overcome  dare  not  ac- 
cept Christ.  It  is  better  to  go  to  the  heathen  who  will  hear. 
Missions  to  the  Moslem  world  are  hopeless,  fruitless,  useless. 
It  is  impossible  to  Christianize  them  and  there  have  been  few, 
if  any,  converts. 

That  both  of  these  views  cannot  be  correct  is  evident,  since  they 
are  contradictory.  That  the  first  is  false  the  whole  history  of 
Islam  demonstrates.  "  By  their  fruits  ye  shall  know  them." 
But  what  of  the  other  view,  held  by  so  many,  that  we  need  not 
expect  large  results  where  there  is  so  little  promise  ? 

Professor  J.  G.  Lansing,  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Arabian 
mission,  wrote  in  1890  :  "If  the  smallness  of  the  number  of 
converts  from  Islam  to  Christianity  be  pointed  out,  this  argues 
not  so  much  the  unapproachability  of  Moslems  as  the  indiffer- 
ence and  inactivity  of  Christians.  The  doctrine  of  fatalism 
commonly  accredited  to  Islam,  is  not  one-half  so  fatalistic  in 
its  spirit  and  operation  as  that  which  for  thirteen  centuries  has 
been  practically  held  by  the  Christian  Church  as  to  the  hope 
of  bringing  the  hosts  of  Islam  into  the  following  of  Jesus  Christ." 
Is  it  possible  that  the  lack  of  results  complained  of  has  been 
really  a  lack  of  faith  ?  Hudson  Taylor  remarked  a  few  years 
ago,  "I  expect  to  see  some  of  the  most  marvellous  results 
within  a  ieyv  years  in  the  missions  to  Islam,  because  of  this 
work  especially  the  enemy  has  said  :  It  is  without  result.  God 
is  not  mocked."  Has  the  apostle  to  China  read  the  signs  of 
the  times  aright  ? 

Neither  God's  Providence  nor  His  Word  are  silent  in  an- 
swer to  that  question.  First  we  have  the  exceeding  hopefulness 
of  results  of  recent  missionary  work  in  many  Moslem  lands  ;  then 
the  sure  promises  of  God  to  give  His  Church  the  victory  over 


THE   OUTLOOK  FOR  MISSIONS   TO   MOSLEMS         393 

Islam ;  and  lastly  the  many  exceeding  great  and  precious 
promises  for  Arabia  the  cradle  of  Islam  in  particular. 

I.  It  is  not  true  that  there  have  been  no  conversions  among 
Moslems.  In  India  alone  there  are  hundreds  who  have  publicly 
abjured  Islam  and  been  received  into  the  Christian  Church. 
The  very  first  native  clergyman  of  the  Northwest  Provinces 
was  a  converted  Mohammedan.  Sayad  Wilayat  Ali  of  Agra 
suffered  martyrdom  at  Delhi  for  Christ.  Mirza  Ghulam  Masih 
of  the  royal  house  of  Delhi  became  a  Christian  and  Abdullah 
Athim,  the  valiant-hearted  of  Amballa  embraced  the  faith. 
At  the  Chicago  Parliament  of  Religions  Dr.  Imad-ud-Din,  him- 
self a  convert  from  Islam  and  a  voluminous  controversial 
writer,  read  a  paper  on  Christian  efforts  among  Indian  Mo- 
hammedans ;  this  paper  gives  the  names  of  one  hundred  and 
seventeen  prominent  converts  from  Islam,  mostly  from  the 
Punjab.  Beside  these,  the  author  says,  "  there  are  all  sorts 
and  conditions  of  men,  rich  and  poor,  high  and  low  men  and 
women,  children,  learned  and  unlearned,  tradesmen,  servants, 
all  kinds  and  classes  of  Mohammedans  whom  the  Lord  our 
God  hath  called  into  His  Church."  It  is  officially  stated  that 
quite  one-half  of  the  converts  from  among  the  higher  classes 
in  the  Punjab  are  from  amongst  Moslems. 

In  Persia  there  have  been  martyrs  for  the  faith  in  recent 
years  and  several  have  been  baptized.  In  the  Turkish  empire 
there  have  been  scores  of  converts  who  have  been  obliged  to 
flee  for  their  lives  or  remain  believers  in  secret.  At  Constanti- 
nople a  congregation  of  converted  Moslems  was  gathered  by 
Dr.  Koelle,  but  man  after  man  disappeared — no  doubt  mur- 
dered for  his  faith.  In  Egypt  there  have  been  scores  of  bap- 
tisms and  among  others  a  student  of  Al  Azhar  University  and 
a  Bey's  son  confessed  Christ.  One  has  only  to  turn  over  the 
leaves  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society  annual  reports  to  read 
of  Mohammedans  being  baptized  in  Kerachi,  and  Bombay, 
Peshawar,  Delhi,  Agra,  and  on  the  borders  of  Afghanistan. 
In  North  Africa  where  the  work  is  very  recent  there  have  been 


394  y4RABU,   THE  CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

conversions  and  in  one  locality  a  remarkable  spiritual  move- 
ment is  in  progress  among  the  Moslems. 

In  Java  and  Sumatra  the  Dutch  and  Rhenish  missionary 
societies  have  labored  with  remarkable  success  among  the 
Mohammedan  population.  At  four  stations  of  the  Rhenish 
Mission  is  Sumatra  where  the  work  is  practically  altogether 
among  Moslems,  (namely,  Sipirok-Simangumban,  Bungabonder, 
Sipiongot,  and  Simanasor)  the  total  number  of  church  members 
according  to  the  Bombay  Guardian,  is  three  thousand  five 
hundred  and  ten.  The  total  number  of  baptisms  from  Islam 
in  these  stations  was  during  1897  sixty-nine,  and  during  the 
first  half  of  1898  already  ninety-seven  baptisms  were  reported. 
In  some  of  the  villages  where  formerly  Islam  was  predominant 
it  has  been  expelled  altogether.  The  total  number  of  Battak 
Christians  amount  to  thirty-one  thousand,  the  largest  part  of 
whom  were  formerly  Moslems.^  In  some  parts  of  Java  still 
larger  results  are  claimed. 

In  most  Moslem  fields  it  is  absolutely  impossible  to  obtain 
accurate  statistics  of  the  number  of  conversions  for  obvious 
reasons.  The  threatened  death-penalty  demands  great  caution 
in  exposing  a  convert  by  freely  publishing  the  fact  of  his  con- 
version. Everywhere  there  are  multitudes  of  secret  believers 
whose  names  are  sometimes  not  known  even  to  the  mission- 
aries. Any  one  who  has  read  the  lives  of  Moslem  converts 
such  as  that  of  Kamil  or  Imad-ud-Din  or  who  knows  from 
books  like  **  Sweet  First  Fruits  "  what  it  means  for  a  Moslem  to 
forsake  the  faith  of  his  fathers,  knows  that  work  in  Moslem 
lands  must  not  be  judged  by  baptismal  statistics. 

There  are  other  indications  of  spiritual  life  entering  the 
Moslem  world.  There  are  thousands  of  Mohammedan  youth 
receiving  instruction  in  Christian  mission  schools  ;  in  Egypt, 
one  mission  has  twenty-four  hundred  and  sixty-four  Moslem 
pupils  enrolled.  The  permeating  power  of  spiritual  Christianity 
is  again  at  work  in  the  Levant  as  when  Paul  and  Silas  made 

1  Missions  in  Sumatra,  Dr.  A.  Schreiber,  "  North  Africa,"  May,  1896. 


THE  OUTLOOK  FOR  MISSIONS  TO  MOSLEMS        395 

their  missionary  journeys.  The  old  churches  of  the  East  by 
their  unfaithfulness  were  the  occasion  of  the  great  apostasy  of 
Islam ;  //lei'r  revival  is  the  pledge  of  its  doiuiifall.  There  is 
now  an  Evangelical  Church  in  Persia,  Egypt,  Palestine,  Syria 
and  Asia  Minor.  Bodies  of  living  Christians  in  the  midst  of 
Islam ;  no  wonder  that  their  power  is  beginning  to  be  felt. 
The  devil  takes  no  antiseptic  precautions  against  a  non-con- 
tagious Christianity.  But  Evangelical  Christianity  is  con- 
tagious, and  the  whole  lurid  horizon  proclaims  in  persecutions 
and  massacres  and  raging  oppositions  everywhere  that  Islam 
feels  the  power  of  Christian  missions,  even  although  they  have 
only  begun  to  attack  in  a  miserly  and  puny  way  this  strong- 
hold of  Satan. 

Regarding  the  character  of  Moslem  converts  Bishop  Tho- 
burn  says  :  "I  believe  that  when  truly  converted  the  Moham- 
medan makes  not  only  a  devoted  Christian  but  in  some  re- 
spects will  make  a  superior  leader.  Leadership  is  a  great  want 
in  every  mission-field  and  the  Mohammedans  of  India  have  the 
material,  if  it  can  only  be  won  for  Christ  and  sanctified  to  His 
service,  out  of  which  splendid  workers  can  be  made  in  the 
Master's  vineyard."  Doctor  Jessup  voices  the  same  opinion, 
"It  is  not  easy  for  a  Mohammedan  to  embrace  Christianity  but 
history  shows  that  when  he  is  converted  the  Moslem  becomes  a 
strong  and  vigorous  Christian." 

2.  In  the  work  of  missions  among  Mohammedans  as  well 
as  in  that  among  the  heathen  we  have  the  assurance  of  final 
victory  in  the  abundant  testimony  of  God's  Word.  God's 
promises  never  fail  of  fulfillment ;  and  those  world-wide  prom- 
ises never  are  put  in  such  a  form  as  to  exclude  the  Moham- 
medans. The  Bible  tells  us  that  many  false  prophets  shall 
arise  and  deceive  many ;  but  it  does  not  for  a  moment  allow 
that  the  empire  of  Christ  shall  divide  rule  with  any  of  them. 
"  It  pleased  the  Father  that  in  Him  [Jesus  not  Mohammed] 
should  all  fullness  dwell."  "  The  Father  loveth  the  Son  and 
hath  given  all  things  into  His  hands  " — not  into  the  hands  of 


396  /IRABIyl,   THE   CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

Mohammed.  "God  hath  exalted  Him  and  given  Him  a 
name  which  is  above  every  name  ...  far  above  all 
principality  and  power  and  might  and  dominion  and  every 
name  that  is  named  not  only  in  this  world  but  also  in  that 
which  is  to  come."  "That  at  the  name  of  Jesus  every"  Mo- 
hammedan "knee  should  bow  and  every"  Moslem  "tongue 
confess  that  Jesus  Christ  is  Lord  to  the  glory  of  God  the 
Father."  The  present  may  see  Islam  triumphant,  but  the 
future  belongs  to  Christ.  Over  against  the  lying  truth  "  there 
is  no  God  but  God  and  Mohammed  is  His  prophet,"  Chris- 
tianity lifts  the  standard,  "Who  is  he  that  overcometh  the 
world  but  he  that  believeth  that  Jesus  Christ  is  the  Son  of 
God?"  The  Divinity  of  Christ,  which  Moslems  deny,  de- 
cides the  destiny  of  all  world-kingdoms. 

Witness  the  present  governments  of  the  Moslem  world.  "  Be 
wise  now  therefore  O  ye  kings,  be  instructed  ye  judges  of  the 
earth  .  .  .  kiss  the  Son  lest  He  be  angry  and  ye  perish 
from  the  way  when  His  wrath  is  kindled  but  a  little."  There 
is  a  general  failure  among  Christians  to  realize  the  number  and 
importance  of  the  missionary  promises  in  the  Old  Testament.^ 
The  Great  Commission  was  based  on  these  exceeding  great 
promises.  The  nations  were  God's  plan  before  they  were  on 
Christ's  program.  And  is  it  not  remarkable  that  nearly  all  of 
these  Old  Testament  promises  are  grouped  around  the  names 
of  countries  which  now  are  the  centre  and  strength  of  the  Mos- 
lem world?  " Known  unto  God  are  all  His  works  from  the  be- 
ginning of  the  world."  Or  will  these  promises  of  world-wide 
import  only  stretch  beyond  Egypt,  ISIesopotamia,  Syria  and 
Arabia,  not  including  those  lands  in  God's  plan  of  redemption 
and  dominion  ?  Is  there  not  a  special  blessing  in  store  for  the 
lands  that  border  Palestine,  when  the  Lord  shall  comfort  Zion 

1  Gen.  xii.  3,  xviii.  8,  xxii.  18,  xxvi.  4,  xxviii.  14;  Num.  xiv.  21; 
Forty-three  of  the  Psalms;  Isaiah  ii.  2,  18,  etc.,  etc.;  Jeremiah  iii.  17; 
Dan.  vii.  13,  14;  Joel  ii.  28;  Jonah,  iii.,  iv. ;  Micah  v.  4;  Hab,  ii.  14; 
Zeph.  ii.  II ;  Hag.  ii.  6,  7  ;  Zech.  ix.  10,  xiv.  9;  Mai.  i.  11. 


THE  OUTLOOK  FOR  MISSIONS   TO   MOSLEMS         397' 

and  restore  all  her  waste  places  ?  "In  that  day  shall  Israel  be 
the  third  with  Egypt  and  with  Assyria  even  a  blessing  in  the 
midst  of  the  earth.  Whom  the  Lord  of  hosts  shall  bless,  say- 
ing, Blessed  be  Egypt  My  people  and  Assyria  the  work  of  My 
hands  and  Israel  My  inheritance." 

The  Moslem  world  is  in  no  de^/er  condition  and  in  no  worse 
condition  than  the  heathen  world  as  portrayed  in  the  New 
Testament.  The  need  of  both  is  the  same ;  and  the  same 
duty  to  evangelize  them ;  and  the  same  promise  of  God's 
blessing  on  our  work  of  witness.  The  Mohammedan  world  is 
also  without  excuse  (Rom.  i.  20,  32),  without  hope  (John 
iii.  36;  Eph.  ii.  12),  without  peace  (Isaiah  xlviii.  22),  with- 
out feeling  (Eph.  iv.  19),  without  Christ  (Rom.  xiii.  13,  14) 
as  is  the  heathen  world.  But  no  less  is  our  responsibility  to- 
ward them  nor  the  power  of  God's  love  to  win  them. 

It  is  the  rock  of  Christ's  Sonship  which  is  the  stone  of 
stumbling  and  the  rock  of  offence  to  the  Moslem  mind.  But 
it  is  this  very  rock  on  which  Christ  builds  His  church ;  and 
the  foundation  of  God  standeth  sure.  Writing  on  this  subject 
Mr.  Edward  Glenny,  the  Secretary  of  the  North  Africa  Mis- 
sion, well  says : 

"Blessed  be  God,  we  are  not  left  to  carry  on  this  warfare  at 
our  own  charges!  'He  that  sent  Me  is  with  Me,'  said  the 
Master ;  and  He  who  sends  His  servants  now  is  surely  with 
them  also,  for  the  promise  stands,  '  Lo  !  I  am  with  you  alway, 
even  unto  the  end  of  the  age.'  In  all  our  efforts  for  the  salva- 
tion of  men,  we  are  dependent  upon  the  power  of  the  Spirit  of 
God ;  for  no  man  can  say  that  Jesus  is  the  Lord,  but  by  the 
Holy  Ghost.  But  if  those  of  us  who  work  at  home  are  con- 
scious of  this,  those  who  labor  in  Mohammedan  countries 
realize  it  most  intensely.  Amongst  the  masses  at  home,  what 
we  have  to  contend  against  mostly  is  indifference ;  but  there  it 
is  deeply-rooted  prejudice,  aye,  even  in  many  cases,  hatred  to 
Jesus  as  the  Son  of  God.  But  the  battle  is  the  Lord's,  not 
ours;  we  are  but  instruments  to  carry  out  His  purposes.     The 


398  ARABIA,   THE  CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

Spirit  has  been  sent  forth  from  the  Father  to  '  convict  the 
WORLD  of  sin,'  and  we  are  not  justified  in  making  any  reser- 
vation in  the  case  of  Mohammedans — yea,  may  we  not  expect 
that  if  there  be  a  nation  or  race  on  the  earth  more  inaccessible 
than  another,  more  averse  to  the  gospel,  more  hardened 
against  its  teachings,  that  there  the  Lord  will  show  '  the  ex- 
ceeding greatness  of  His  power '  by  calling  out  some  from 
their  midst  whom  He  may  make  '  chosen  vessels '  to  bear  His 
name  to  others  ?  Has  not  that  been  His  mode  of  working  in 
time  past?  " 

3.  There  is  no  land  in  the  world  and  no  people  (with  the 
exception  of  Palestine  and  the  Jews)  which  bear  such  close 
relation  to  the  Theocratic  covenants  and  Old  Testament 
promises  as  Arabia  and  the  Arabs.  The  promises  for  the 
final  victory  of  the  Kingdom  of  God  in  Arabia  are  many, 
definite  and  glorious.  These  promises  group  themselves 
around  seven  names  which  have  from  time  immemorial  been 
identified  with  the  peninsula  of  Arabia :  Ishmael,  Kedar, 
Nebaioth,  Sheba,  Seba,  Midian  and  Ephah.  We  select  these 
names  only,  omitting  others  which  have  an  indirect  reference 
to  Arabia  or  the  Arabs,  as  well  as  those  promises,  so  numerous 
and  glorious,  concerning  the  wilderness  and  desert-lands. 
The  latter  would  surely,  for  the  dwellers  of  Palestine,  have 
primary  reference  to  Northern  Arabia;  but  our  argument  is 
strong  enough  without  these  special  promises.^ 

In  order  to  understand  the  promises  given  to  the  sons  of 
Ishmael,  Kedar  and  Nebaioth,  we  need  first  to  know  the  re- 
lation which  Ishmael  bears  to  the  Abrahamic  covenant  and  the 
place  he  occupies  in  God's  plan  for  the  nations  as  outlined  in 
the  book  of  Genesis. 

Hagar,  the  mother  of  the  Arabian  patriarch,  seems  to  have 
occupied  a  prominent  place  in  Abraham's  household  and  ap- 
pears to  have  brought  to  that  position  not  only  mental  gifts  but 

1  See  Isaiah  xxxv.  1-3,  xl.  3,  xli.  19,  xliii.  19,  li.  3;  Ezekiel  xxxiv.  25, 
xlvii.  8;  Ps.  Ixxii.  9,  etc. 


THE  OUTLOOK  FOR  MISSIONS  TO  MOSLFMS         399 

also  an  inward  participation  in  the  faith  of  the  God  of  Abra- 
ham. She  was  probably  added  to  the  family  of  faith  during 
Abraham's  sojourn  in  Egypt  and  occupied  the  same  position 
toward  the  female  servants  that  Eliezer  of  Damascus  did  to  the 
male  servants.  It  is  when  she  w^s  driven  forth  into  the  wilder- 
ness by  the  jealous  harshness  of  Sarah  that  we  have  the  first 
revelation  of  God  regarding  her  seed.  **  The  angel  of  the 
Lord  found  her  by  a  fountain  of  water  in  the  wilderness, 
by  the  fountain  in  the  way  to  Shur."^  And  He  said, 
Whence  earnest  thou?  and  whither  wilt  thou  go?  And  she 
said,  I  flee  from  the  face  of  my  mistress  Sarai.  And  the 
angel  of  the  Lord  said  unto  her,  Return  to  thy  mistress  and 
submit  thyself  under  her  hands.  And  the  angel  of  the  Lord 
said  unto  her,  .  .  .  "  I  will  multiply  thy  seed  exceedingly 
that  it  shall  not  be  numbered  for  multitude.  And  the  angel 
of  the  Lord  said  unto  her,  Behold  thou  art  with  child,  and 
shalt  bear  a  son  and  shalt  call  his  name  Ishmael  [God  will 
hear]  ;  because  the  Lord  hath  heard  thy  affliction.  And  he 
will  be  a  wild  man,  his  hand  will  be  against  every  man,  and 
every  man's  hand  against  him ;  and  he  shall  dwell  in  the 
presence  of  all  his  brethren.  And  she  called  the  name  of  the 
Lord  that  spake  unto  her,  Thou  God  seest  me :  for  she  said, 
Have  I  also  here  looked  after  Him  that  seeth  me." 

It  is  plain  from  the  context  that  the  angel  of  the  Lord  and 
the  Lord  Himself  are  here  identified;  it  was  the  angel  of 
Jehovah,  the  angel  of  the  covenant  of  the  Christ  of  the  Old 
Testament,  Why  should  this  "angel"  first  appear  to  the 
Egyptian  bondwoman  ?  Is  it  according  to  the  law  that  the 
Lord  always  reveals  Himself  first  to  the  poorest,  most  distressed 
and  receptive  hearts  or  was  it  the  special  office  of  the  covenant 
angel  to  seek  "that  which  was  lost"  from  the  patriarchal 
church  at  its  very  beginning?  Lange  suggests  in  his  com- 
mentary that  the  "Angel  of  Jehovah,  as   the  Christ  who  was 

'  According  to  Gesenius  this  is  Suez,  while  Keil  identifies  it  with  Jifar, 
a  site  in  the  northwestern  part  of  Arabia  near  Egypt. 


400  ARABIA,   THE  CRADLE  OF  ISUM 

to  come  through  Isaac  had  a  peculiar  reason  for  assisting 
Hagar,  since  she  for  the  sake  of  the  future  Christ  is  involved 
in  this  sorrow."  In  any  case  the  special  revelation  and  the 
special  promise  was  given  to  Hagar  not  only  but  to  her  seed. 
Christ,  if  we  may  so  express  it,  outlines  the  future  history  and 
character  of  the  Ishmaelites  as  well  as  their  strength  and  glory ; 
but  He  also  gives  them  a  spiritual  promise  in  the  God-given 
name,  Ishmael,  Elohim  will  hear.  Without  this  the  theophany 
loses  it  true  character.  Ishmael  as  the  child  of  Abraham 
could  not  be  left  undistinguishable  among  the  heathen.  It 
was  for  Abraham's  sake  that  the  revelation  included  the  un- 
born child  in  its  promises. 

The  fulfillment  of  the  promise  that  Ishmael' s  seed  should 
multiply  exceedingly  has  never  been  more  clearly  stated  than 
by  the  geographer  Ritter  :  "  Arabia,  whose  population  consists 
to  a  large  extent  of  Ishmaelites,  is  a  living  fountain  of  men 
whose  streams  for  thousands  of  years  have  poured  themselves 
far  and  wide  to  the  east  and  west.  Before  Mohammed  its 
tribes  were  found  in  all  border-Asia,  in  the  East  Indies  as  early 
as  the  middle  ages ;  and  in  all  North  Africa  it  is  the  cradle  of 
all  the  wandering  hordes.  Along  the  whole  Indian  ocean  down 
to  Molucca  they  had  their  settlements  in  the  middle  ages ;  they 
spread  along  the  coast  to  Mozambique ;  their  caravans  crossed 
India  to  China,  and  in  Europe  they  peopled  Southern  Spain 
and  ruled  it  for  seven  hundred  years."  Where  there  has  been 
such  clear  fulfillment  of  the  promise  of  natural  increase,  is 
there  no  ground  that  God  will  hear  and  give  spiritual  blessing 
also  and  that  Ishmael  "shall  dwell  in  the  presence  of  all  his 
brethren"  in  the  new  covenant  of  grace? 

Thirteen  years  after  the  first  promise  to  Ishmael  we  hear  the 
promise  renewed  just  after  the  institution  of  circumcision,  the 
sign  of  the  covenant  of  faith.  "  And  Abraham  said  unto  God, 
O  that  Ishmael  might  [even  yet]  live  before  Thee.  And  God 
said,  Sarah  thy  wife  shall  bear  thee  a  son  indeed  ;  and  thou 
shalt  call  his  name   Isaac  :    and   I  will  establish  my  covenant 


RESCUED    SLAVE    BOYS   AT    >iUSCAT 


^ 


^^it..>. 


m.rj-}-L 


THE   ARABIAN    MISSION    HOUSE   AT   MUSCAT 


THE   OUTLOOK  FOR  MISSIONS   TO  MOSLEMS         40l 

with  him  for  an  everlasting  covenant,  and  with  his  seed  after 
him.  And  as  for  Ishmael,  I  have  heard  thee.  .  .  .  " 
AVhat  is  the  significance  of  Abraham's  prayer  for  Ishmael  ? 
Is  it  probable  tliat  he  merely  asks  for  temporal  prosperity  and 
for  length  of  life  ?  This  is  the  idea  of  some  commentators  but 
none  of  them  explain  why  the  prayer  asks  that  Ishmael  may 
live  ^'before  God."  Keil  and  others,  more  correctly  we  think, 
regard  the  prayer  of  Abraham  as  arising  out  of  his  anxiety  lest 
Ishmael  should  not  have  any  part  in  the  blessings  of  the  cove- 
nant. The  fact  that  the  answer  of  God  contains  no  denial  of 
the  prayer  of  Abraham  is  in  favor  of  this  interpretation. 

In  the  prayer  Abraham  expresses  his  anticipation  of  an  in- 
definite neglect  of  Ishmael  which  was  painful  to  his  parental 
heart.  He  asks  for  him,  therefore,  a  life  from  God  in  the 
highest  sense.  Else  what  does  the  circumcision  of  Ishmael 
mean  ?  The  sealing  or  ratifying  of  the  covenant  of  God  with 
Abraham  through  Isaac's  seed,  embraces  not  only  the  seed  of 
Isaac,  but  all  those  who  in  a  wider  sense  are  sharers  of  the  cove- 
nant, Ishmael  and  his  descendants.  And  however  much  the 
Arabs  may  have  departed  from  iht  faith  of  Abraham  they  have 
for  all  these  centuries  remained  faithful  to  the  sign  of  the  old 
covenant  by  the  rite  of  circumcision.  This  is  one  of  the  most 
remarkable  facts  of  history.  Circumcision  is  not  once  alluded 
to  in  the  Koran,  and  Moslem  writers  offer  no  explanation  for 
the  omission.  Yet  the  custom  is  universal  in  Arabia,  and  from 
them  it  passed  over  with  other  traditions  to  all  the  Moslem 
world.  The  Moslems  date  circumcision  from  Abraham  and 
circumcise  at  a  late  period.  The  Arabs  in  "  the  time  of  ig- 
norance ' '  also  practiced  the  rite ;  an  uncircumcised  person  is 
unknown  even  among  those  Bedouins  who  know  nothing  of 
Islam  save  the  name  of  the  prophet.^ 

"  As  for  Ishmael  I  have  heard  thee."  For  the  third  time  we 
read  of  a  special  revelation  to  prove  God's  love  for  the  son  of 
the  bondmaid.  In  the  pathetic  story  of  Hagar's  expulsion, 
'Compare  Rom.  iv.  ii,  and  Gal.  iii.  17. 


409  /iRABlA,   THE  CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

Ishmael  is  the  centre  figure.'  His  mocking  was  its  cause ;  for 
his  sake  it  was  grievous  in  Abraham's  sight  to  expel  them.  To 
Ishmael  again  is  there  a  special  promise,  "  because  he  is  thy 
seed."  When  the  water  is  spent  in  the  bottle  and  Hagar  turns 
away  from  seeing  the  death  of  the  child,  it  was  not  her  weep- 
ing but  the  lad's  prayer  that  brought  deliverance  from  heaven. 
"  And  the  angel  of  God  called  to  Hagar  out  of  heaven  and  said 
unto  her,  What  aileth  thee,  Hagar?  fear  not;  for  God  hath 
heard  the  voice  of  the  lad  where  he  is.  Arise,  lift  up  the  lad 
and  hold  him  by  thine  hand ;  for  I  will  make  of  him  a  great 
nation.  And  God  opened  her  eyes,  and  she  saw  a  well  of 
water;  and  she  went  and  filled  the  bottle  with  water  and  gave 
the  lad  drink.     And  God  was  with  the  lad." 

No  less  does  this  history  show  the  moral  beauty  of  Hagar' s 
character,  her  tender  mother  love  and  all  the  beautiful  traits  of 
a  maternal  solicitude  than  the  repentance  of  Ishmael.  God 
heard  his  voice ;  God  forgave  his  sinful  mocking ;  God  con- 
firmed his  promise ;  God  saved  his  life ;  God  was  with  the  lad. 
The  Providence  of  God  watched  over  Ishmael.  Long  years 
after  he  seems  to  have  visited  his  father  Abraham,  for  we  read 
that  when  the  patriarch  died  in  a  good  old  age  "  his  sons  Isaac 
and  Ishmael  buried  him  in  the  cave  of  Machpelah."  No  men- 
tion is  made  here  of  the  sons  of  Keturah.  And  twice  in  the 
Bible  the  generations  of  Ishmael  are  recorded  in  full  ^  in  order 
to  bind  together  the  prophecies  of  Genesis  with  the  Messianic 
promises  of  Isaiah  for  the  seed  of  Ishmael, 

The  twelve  princes,  sons  of  Ishmael,  whose  names  are  re- 
corded "by  their  towns  and  their  castles"  were  undoubtedly 
the  patriarchs  of  so  many  Arab  tribes.  Some  of  the  names 
can  be  distinctly  traced  through  history  and  others  are  easily 
identified  with  modern  clans  in  Arabia.  Mibsam,  e.  g.,  seems 
to  correspond  with  the  Nejd  clan  of  Bessam  some  of  whom 
are  merchants  at  Busrah ;  Mishma  is  surely  the  same  as  the 

■  Gen.  xxi.  9-22. 

2  Gen.  XXV.  11-18,  and  I  Chron.  i.  28. 


THE  OUTLOOK  FOR  MISSIONS   TO   MOSLEMS         403 

Arabic  Bm  M'lsma ;  while  nearly  all  commentators  agree  that 
Duma  is  Duviat  el  Jendal  in  North  Arabia,  one  of  the  oldest 
Arabic  settlements.  Aside  from  conjecture  two  names  stand 
prominent  and  well-known  in  profane  history ;  Nebajoth  and 
Kedar.  Pliny  in  his  natural  history  mentions  them  together 
as  the  Nabatoei  et  Cedrei  and  the  Arab  historians  are  familiar 
with  the  names.  Undoubtedly  the  Nabatans  are  related  to 
Nebajoth  \  although  this  is  denied  by  Quartermere  it  is  affirmed 
by  M.  Chwolson  and  is  the  universal  opinion  of  the  Arabs 
themselves. 

Now  it  is  these  very  two  names,  whose  identity  no  one 
questions,  that  are  the  centre  of  glorious  promises.  It  is  gen- 
erally known  that  the  sixtieth  chapter  of  Isaiah  is  the  gem  of 
missionary  prophecy  in  the  Old  Testament  \  but  it  does  not 
occur  to  every  one  that  a  large  portion  of  it  consists  of  special 
promises  for  Arabia.  "The  multitude  of  camels  shall  cover 
thee,  the  dromedaries  of  Midian  and  Ephah,  (Sons  of  Keturah, 
Gen.  XXV.  1-5) ;  all  they  from  Sheba  (South  Arabia  or 
Yemen)  shall  come ;  they  shall  bring  gold  and  incense ;  and 
they  shall  show  forth  the  praises  of  the  Lord.  All  the  flocks 
of  Kedar  shall  be  gathered  together  unto  thee ;  the  rams  of 
Nebaioth  shall  minister  unto  thee :  they  shall  come  up  with 
acceptance  upon  mine  altar  and  I  will  glorify  the  house  of  my 
glory.  Who  are  these  that  fly  as  a  cloud  and  as  doves  to  their 
windows?  " 

These  verses  read  in  connection  with  the  grand  array  of 
promises  that  precede  them  leave  no  room  for  doubt  that  the 
sons  of  Ishmael  have  a  large  place  in  this  coming  glory  of  the 
Lord  and  the  brightness  of  His  rising.  It  has  only  been  de- 
layed by  cur  neglect  to  evangelize  Northern  Arabia  but  God 
will  keep  His  promise  yet  and  Christ  shall  see  of  the  travail 
of  His  soul,  among  the  camel-drivers  and  shepherds  of  Arabia. 
And  then  shall  be  fulfilled  that  other  promise  significantly  put 
in  Isaiah  xlii.  for  this  part  of  the  peninsula:  "Sing  unto  the 
Lord  a  new  song  and  His  praise  from  the  end  of  the  earth 


404  ARABIA,   THE   CRADLE   OF  ISLAM 

.  let  the  wilderness  and  the  cities  thereof  lift  up  their 
voice,  the  villages  that  Kedar  doth  inhabit  :  let  the  inhabitants 
of  the  rock  sing,  let  them  shout  from  the  top  of  the  moun- 
tains." It  is  all  there,  with  geographical  accuracy  and  up-to- 
date  ;  "  trifies  in  the  wilderness  "  that  is  Nejd  under  its  present 
government;  Kedar  forsaking  the  nomad  tent  and  becoming 
villagers;  and  the  rock-dwellers  of  Medain  Salih  !  "  And  I 
will  bring  the  blind  by  a  way  they  knew  not ;  I  will  lead  them 
in  paths  that  they  have  not  known  :  I  will  make  darkness  light 
before  them  and  crooked  things  straight."  The  only  proper 
name,  the  only  geographical  centre  of  the  entire  chapter  is 
Kedar.  In  two  other  prophecies,^  which  have  no  Messianic 
character,  Kedar  is  referred  to  as  synonymous  with  Arabia. 

Another  group  of  missionary  promises  for  Arabia  cluster 
round  the  names  Seba  and  Sheba.  "All  they  from  Sheba  shall 
come ;  they  shall  bring  gold  and  incense  and  they  shall  show- 
forth  the  praises  of  the  Lord."  (Is.  Ix.  6.)  "The  kings  of 
Sheba  and  Seba  shall  offer  gifts.  Yea  all  kings  shall  fall  down 
before  Him,  all  nations  shall  serve  Him.  .  .  .  He  shall 
live  and  to  Him  shall  be  given  of  the  gold  of  Sheba ;  prayer  also 
shall  be  made  for  Him  continually  and  daily  shall  He  be 
praised."  The  Messianic  character  of  this  psalm  is  generally 
acknowledged. 

Where  are  Seba  and  Sheba?  Who  are  they?  Three 
Shebas  are  referred  to  in  genealogy  and  prophecy,  i .  A  son 
of  Raamah,  son  of  Cush  ;  2.  A  son  of  Joktan ;  3.  A  son 
of  Jokshan  son  of  Keturah.  But  all  of  these  find  their  dwell- 
ing-place in  what  is  now  Southern  Arabia.  The  Joktanite 
Sheba  is  the  kingdom  of  the  Himyarites  in  Yemen. ^  The 
kingdom  of  Sheba  embraced  the  greater  part  of  Yemen ;  its 
chief  cities  and  probably  its  successive  capitals  were  Seba, 
Sana  (Uzal),  and  Zaphar  (Sephar).  Seba,  the  oldest  capital,  is 
identical  with  the  present  Marib,  northeast  of  Sana ;   for  Ez- 

1  Isaiah  xxi.  13-17  and  Jer.  xlix.  2S-33. 
*  See  Smith's  Bible  Dictionary. 


THE  OUTLOOK  FOR  MISSIONS   TO  MOSLEMS         405 

Zejjaj  in  the  Taj  El  Aroos  dictionary  says,  "  Seba  was  the  city 
of  Marib  or  the  country  in  the  Yemen  of  which  the  city  was 
Marib."  Ptolemy's  map  makes  plain  what  the  Romans  and 
Greeks  understood  by  Seba  and  Sheba.  The  Cushite  Sheba 
settled  somewhere  on  the  shores  of  the  Persian  Gulf.  In  the 
Marasid  Stanley- Poole  says  he  found  "an  identification 
which  appears  to  be  satisfactory — that  on  the  island  of  Awal, 
one  of  the  Bahrein  islands  are  the  ruins  of  an  ancient  city 
called  Seba." 

The  same  authority  holds  that  the  Keturahite  Sheba  formed 
one  tribe  with  the  Cushite  Sheba  and  also  dwelt  in  Eastern 
Arabia.  Sheba  has  always  been  a  land  of  gold  and  incense 
and  we  are  only  beginning  to  know  a  little  of  the  opulence  and 
glory  of  the  ancient  Himyarite  kingdom  in  Yemen  from  the 
lately  discovered  inscriptions  and  ruins. 

In  the  same  psalm  that  gives  these  promises  to  Southern  and 
Eastern  Arabia  we  have  this  remarkable  verse  :  "  He  shall  have 
dominion  also  from  sea  to  sea  and  from  the  river  unto  the  ends 
of  the  earth.  They  that  dwell  in  the  wilderness  shall  bow  be- 
fore Him  and  His  enemies  shall  lick  the  dust."  The  river  re- 
ferred to  is  undoubtedly  the  Euphrates^  and  the  boundaries 
given  are  intended  to  include  the  ideal  extent  of  the  promised 
land.  Now  it  is,  to  say  the  least,  remarkable  that  modern 
Jewish  commentators  interpret  this  passage  together  with  the 
forty-eighth  chapter  of  Ezekiel  so  as  to  include  the  whole 
peninsula  of  Arabia  in  the  land  of  promise.  I  have  seen  a 
curious  map,  printed  by  Jews  in  London,  on  which  the  twelve 
restored  tribes  had  each  their  strip  of  territory  right  across 
Arabia  from  the  Red  Sea  to  the  Gulf  and  including  Palestine 
and  Syria. 

Isaac  Da  Costa,  the  great  Dutch  poet,  who  was  of  Jewish  de- 
scent gathers  together  in  his  epic,  "Hagar,"  some  of  these 
Bible  promises  for  the  sons  of  Ishmael.'' 

'  Cf.  Exodus  xxiii.  31  and  Deut.  xi.  24. 

5  The  Christian  hitelligeucer  (N.  Y.),  March  15,  1899. 


406  ARABIA,    THE   CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

"  Mother  of  Ishmael !     The  word  that  God  hath  spoken 
Never  hath  failed  the  least,  nor  was  His  promise  broken.  • 

Whether  in  judgment  threatened  or  as  blessing  given ; 
Whether  for  time  and  earth  or  for  eternal  heaven, 
To  Esau  or  to  Jacob. 

The  patriarch  prayed  to  God,  while  bowing  in  the  dust: 
'  Oh  that  before  thee  Ishmael  might  live  ! ' — His  prayer,  his  trust. 
Nor  was  that  prayer  despised,  t/iat  promise  left  alone 
Without  fulfillment.     For  the  days  shall  come 
When  Ishmael  shall  bow  his  haughty  chieftain  head 
Before  that  Greatest  Chief  of  Isaac's  royal  seed. 
Thou,  favored  Solomon,  hast  first  fulfillment  seen 
Of  Hagar's  promise,  when  came  suppliant  Sheba's  queen. 
Next  Araby  the  blest  brought  Bethlehem's  newborn  King, 
Her  myrrh  and  spices,  gold  and  offering. 
Again  at  Pentecost  they  came,  first-fruits  of  harvest  vast; 
When,  to  adore  the  name  of  Jesus,  at  the  last 
To  Zion's  glorious  hill  the  nation's  joy  to  share 
The  scattered  flocks  of  Kedar  all  are  gathered  there, 
Nebajoth,  Hefa,  Midian. 

Then  Israel  shall  know  Whose  heart  their  hardness  broke, 
Whose  side  they  pierced,  Whose  curse  they  dared  invoke. 
And  then,  while  at  His  feet  they  mourn  His  bitter  death. 
Receive  His  pardon. 

Before  Whose  same  white  throne  Gentile  and  Jew  shall  meet 
With  Parthian,  Roman,  Greek,  the  far  North  and  the  South, 
From  Mississippi's  source  to  Ganges'  giant  mouth, 
And  every  tongue  and  tribe  shall  join  in  one  new  song. 
Redemption  !  Peace  on  earth  and  good-will  unto  men  ; 
The  purpose  of  all  ages  unto  all  ages  sure.     Amen. 
Glory  unto  the  Father  !     Glory  the  Lamb,  once  slain, 
Spotless  for  human  guilt,  exalted  now  to  reign ! 
And  to  the  Holy  Ghost,  life-giver,  whose  refreshing 
Makes  all  earth's  deserts  bloom  with  living  showers  of  blessing !  " 


"  Mother  of  Ishmael !     I  see  thee  yet  once  more. 
Thee,  under  burning  skies  and  on  a  waveless  shore  ! 
Thou  comfortless,  soul  storm  tossed,  tempest  shaken, 
Heart  full  of  anguish  and  of  hope  forsaken, 


THE  OUTLOOK  FOR  MISSIONS   TO   MOSLEMS         407 

Thou,  too,  didst  find  at  last  God's  glory  all  thy  stay  ! 

He  came.     He  spake  to  thee.     He  made  thy  night  His  day. 

As  then,  so  now.     Return  to  Sarah's  tent 

And  Abraham's  God,  and  better  covenant. 

And  sing  with  Mary,  through  her  Saviour  free, 

'  God  of  my  life,  Thou  hast  looked  down  on  me.'  " 

But  Arabia,  although  it  has  all  this  wealth  of  promise,  is  not 
a  field  for  feeble  faith.  Yet  we  can  learn  to  look  at  this 
barren  land  because  of  these  promises  with  the  same  reckless, 
uncalculating,  defiant  confidence  in  which  Abraham  "  without 
being  weakened  in  faith,  he  considered  his  own  body  now  as 
good  as  dead  "  (r.  v.)  "  but  waxed  strong  through  faith  giving 
glory  to  God."  The  promises  are  great  because  the  obstacles 
are  great ;  that  the  glory  of  the  plan  as  well  as  the  glory  of 
the  work  may  be  to  God  alone.  Arabia  needs  men  who  will 
believe  as  seeing  the  Invisible.  Six  hundred  years  ago  Ray- 
mond Lull  wrote  :  "It  seems  to  me  that  the  Holy  Land  can- 
not be  won  in  any  other  way  than  that  whereby  Thou,  O  Lord 
Jesus  Christ,  and  Thy  Holy  Apostles  won  it,  by  love  and 
prayer,  and  the  shedding  of  tears  and  blood." 

A  lonely  worker  among  Moslems  in  North  Africa  recently 
wrote:  "Yes  it  is  lives  poured  out  that  these  people  need — 
a  sowing  in  tears — in  a  measure  that  perhaps  no  heathen  land 
requires  ;  they  need  a  Calvary  before  they  get  their  Pentecost. 
Thanks  be  unto  God  for  a  field  like  this  :  in  the  light  of  eternity 
we  could  ask  no  higher  blessedness  than  the  chance  it  gives  of 
fellowship  with  His  Son." 

The  dumb  spirit  of  Islam  has  possessed  Arabia  from  its 
childhood  for  thirteen  hundred  years;  "he  teareth  and  he 
foameth  and  gnasheth  with  his  teeth  and  pineth  away."  "And 
He  said  unto  them  this  kind  can  come  forth  by  nothing  but  by 
prayer  and  fasting."  ^^  If  thou  canst  believe,  all  thifigs  are  pos- 
sible to  him  that  believethy  (Mark  ix.  14-29.) 

Life  for  Arabia  must  come  from  the  Life-Giver.  "  I  believe 
in    the    Holy  Ghost,"  therefore  mission-work  in  Arabia  will 


408  ARABIA,    THE   CRADLE  OF  ISLAM 

prove  the  promise  of  God  true  in  every  particular  and  to  its 
fullest  extent.  "  O  that  Ishmael  might  live  ...  as  for 
Ishmael  I  have  heard  thee." 

"  Speed  on,  ye  lieialds,  bringing 

Life  to  the  desert  slain  ; 
Till  in  its  mighty  winging, 

God's  spirit  comes  to  reign 
From  death  to  new-begetting, 

God  shall  the  power  give. 
Shall  choose  them  for  crown-setting 

And  Ishmael  shall  live. 

"  So  speaks  the  promise,  bringing 

The  age  of  Jubilee 
To  every  home  and  tenting, 

From  Tadmor  to  the  sea. 
The  dead  to  life  are  risen, 

The  glory  spreads  abroad. 
The  desert  answers  heaven, 

Hosannas  to  the  Lord ! " 


Appendix  I 


A  CHRONOLOGICAL  TABLE 

Circa    1892  B.  C— Birth  of  Ishmael. 
'773     "     — Death  of  IshmaeL 

992     "     — Bilkis,  queen  of  Yemen  (Sheba)  visits  Solomon. 
700     "     — Amalgamation    of    Cushite    and    Sabean    clans    in 

Yemen. 
754     "     . — All  Yemen  and  Oman  under  rule  of  Yaarfib. 
588     "     — First  Jewish  settlements  in  Arabia. 
D        33 — Arabians  present  at  Pentecost. 

37 — The  Apostle  Paul  goes  to  Arabia. 
60 — Second  Jewish  immigration  into  Arabia. 
105 — Roman  Emperor  Trajan  under  his  general  Palma  subdues 

Northwestern  Arabia. 
120— Destruction  of  great  dam  at  Marib  and  the  beginning  of 

Arab  migrations  northward. 
297 — Famine  in  Western  Arabia.     Migrations  eastward. 
326 — Nearchus,  admiral  of  Alexander,  surveys  the  Persian  Gulf. 
325 — Nicene  Council— Arabians  present. 
342 — Christianity     already      extending     in      Northern     Arabia. 

Churches  built  in  Yemen. 
372 — Mavia,  queen  of  North  Arabia,  converted  to  Christianity. 
525 — Abyssinian  invasion  of  Yemen. 
561 — Mohammed  born  at  Mecca. 
575 — Persians  under  Anosharwan  expel  the    Abyssinians   from 

Yemen. 
595 — Mohammed  marries  Khadijah. 
595 — Yemen  passes  under  Persian  Rule. 
610 — Mohammed  begins  his  prophetic  career. 
622 — (A.  H.  I) — Mohammed  flees  from  Mecca  to  Medina.     The 

era  of  the  Hegira. 
623— Battle  of  Bedr. 
624 — Battle  of  Ohod. 

630 — Mecca  overcome.     Embassy  to  Oman,  etc. 
632— Death  of  Mohammed.     Abubekr  caliph.     All  Arabia  sub- 
jugated by  force  of  arms. 
634 — Omar   caliph.     Expulsion   of   Jews   and    Christians    from 

Arabia. 
638 — Kufa  and  Busrah  founded. 

409 


410  y4PPENDIX  I 

A.  D.     644 — Otliman  caliph. 

"         655 — Dissensions    regarding  caliphate.     Medina    attacked.     All 

chosen  caliph. 
"         656 — Battle  of  the  Camel.     Capital  transferred  to  Kufa. 
i<         661 — Ali  assassinated.     Hassan  becomes  caliph. 
"         750 — Beginning  of  Abbaside  Caliphate  (Bagdad). 
"  754— Mansur. 

"         786 — Haroun  el  Rashid. 
"  809 — Amin. 

"         813— Mamun. 
"         833 — Motasim. 
"         847 — Wotawakkel. 
"         889 — Arise  of  Carmathian  sect. 
"         905 — Yemen  comes  under  Karamite  caliphs. 
"         932 — Rebellion    in    Yemen.     It    becomes    independent    under 

Jiitams  of  Sana  as  rulers. 
"         93° — Carmathians  take  Mecca  and  carry  away  the  black-stone  to 

Katif. 
"       1055 — Togrul  Beg  at  Bagdad. 

"       1096-1272 — The  Crusades.     Arabia  in  touch  with  European  civil- 
ization through  its  bands  of  warriors. 
"       1 173 — Yemen  subdued  by  sultans  of  Egypt. 
"       1240 — Rise  of  Ottoman  Turks. 
"       1258— Fall  of  Bagdad. 
"       1325 — Yemen  again  independent. 
"       1454 — Imams  of  Yemen  take  Aden  and  fortify  it. 
"       1503 — Portuguese    under    Ludovico    Barthema,  make  voyages  on 

Arabian  coast  and  visit  Aden  and  Muscat. 
"       1507 — Portuguese  take  Muscat. 
"       '5 '3 — Portuguese  under  Abulquerque  are  repulsed  at  Aden.    Visit 

Mokha  and  the  Persian  Gulf. 
"       15 16 — Suleiman  by  order  of  Mameluke  Sultan  attacks  Aden  and  is 

repulsed. 
"       ^538 — Suleiman  the  Magnificent  sends  a  fleet  and  takes  Aden  by 

treachery.     Arab  garrison  butchered. 
"       1540 — Beginning  of  Turkish  rule  in  Yemen. 
"       1550 — Arabs  hand  over  Aden  to  the  Portuguese. 
"       155 1 — Aden  recaptured  by  Peri  Pasha. 
"       1624-1741 — Imams   established   rule  over  all  Oman  with  capital 

at  Rastak  ;  then  at  Muscat. 
"        1609 — First  visit  to  Aden  by  English  captains. 
"        1618 — English  establish  factories  at  Mokha. 
"       1622 — Portuguese  expelled  from   Bahrein  and  Arab  coast  by  the 

Persians. 
"       1630 — Arabs  drive  out  Turks  from  Yemen  and  Imams  take  the 

throne  at  Sana. 
"       1740-65 — Dutch  East   India  Company  in  Persian  Gulf  and  Red 

Sea  ports. 
"       1765 — English  East  India  Company  in  Persian  Gulf  and  Red  Sea 

ports. 
"       '735 — Abdali  Sultan  of  Lahaj  takes  Aden. 


/iPPENDIX  I  411 

A.  D.   1741 — Ahmed  bin   Said  drives  out  Portuguese   from  Muscat  and 

founds  Dynasty  of  Imams,  anew. 
•'        1765 — Mohammed   bin  Abdul  Wahab  dies   and  his  political  asso- 
ciate  Mohammed  bin   Saud  propagates  Wahabiism  in 

Arabia. 
"       1780 — Spread  of  Wahabi  doctrine  over  all  of  Central  Arabia. 
"        iSoi — Wahabis  conquer  Bahrein  and  hold  it  for  nine  years. 
"       1803— Abdul-Aziz  the  Wahabi   chief  assassinated   by   a   Persian 

fanatic. 
"       1803 — Wahabis  take  Mecca  and  lay  seige  to  Jiddah. 
"        1804 — Wahabis  take  Medina. 

"       1804 — Said  bin  Sultan  ruler  of  Oman  and  Zanzibar. 
"        1809 — Aden  visited  by  Captain  Haines  of  British  Navy. 
"        18 18 — Ibrahim    Pasha  captures  Wahabi  capital  and  sends  Amir  in 

chains  to  Constantinople  where  he  is  beheaded. 
"        1805-1820 — British  suppress  piracy  in  Persian  Gulf. 
"       1820 — Son  of  Amir,  Turki,  proclaimed  Sultan  of  Nejd  and  Oman 

coast. 
"       1821 — British  make  treaty  with   tribes  on  Oman  coast  called  the 

"  Trucial  League." 
"       1820-1847 — British  treaties  with  Bahrein  chiefs  to  suppress  slave- 
trade  and  piracy. 
"       1831 — Turki,  ruler  of  Nejd,  murdered. 
"        1832 — Feysul  bin  Turki,  succeeds  him. 
"       '835 — Abdullah  bin  Rashid   becomes  a  powerful  chief  in  Jebel 

Shammar. 
"       1835 — Aden  again  visited  by  British   to  avenge   cruelty  to  sailors 

shipwrecked  off  its  coast. 
"       1839 — Aden    bombarded    by    British    fleet   and  taken.     Treaties 

made  with  surrounding  tribes. 
"        1 840- 1 847 — Aden  attacked  by  Arabs. 
'•       1846 — Tilal    bin    Abdullah    bin    Rashid  succeeds  to  rulership  of 

Jebel  Shammar  and  becomes  independent  of  Wahabi 

power. 
«       1851-1856 — Abdullah  bin  Mutalib  Sherif  of  Mecca. 
•'       1854 — Sultan  of  Oman    makes   treaty  with    England  and   cedes 

Kuria  Muria  Islands. 
"       1856 — Thuwani  bin  Said  ruler  of  Oman. 
"       1857 — Perim  occupied  by  British. 

"       1858-1877 — Abdullah  bin  Mohammed  Sherif  of  Mecca. 
"       1858 — Cable  laid  in  Red  Sea  from  Suez  to  Aden,  but  proved  de- 
fective (cost  ;,^8oo,ooo). 
"        1858 — Bombardment  of  Jiddah  by  British. 
"       1865-1886 — Abdullah  bin  Feysul  ruler  of  Nejd  with  capital  at 

Riad. 
"        1867 — Mitaab  bin  Abdullah  succeeds  Tilal. 
"        1867 — Menamah    (Bahrein)    bombarded    by    British    because    of 

broken  treaty.      Isa  bin  Ali  made  ruler. 
"        1866 — Sultan  bin  Thuwani  ruler  of  Oman. 
"        1868 — Mohammed  bin  Rashid  assumes  power  and  rule  at  Hail  as 

Amir  of  Nejd. 


412  APPENDIX  I 

A.  D.    1869 — Cable  laid  from  Bombay  to  Aden  and  Suez. 
1870 — Turkish  invasion  of  Yemen. 

187 1 — Turkish  invasion  of  Hassa  and  occupation  of  Katif. 
1871 — Seyyid  Turki  ruler  of  Oman  (Muscat). 
1875 — Busrah  made  a  separate  vilayet. 
1877 — Beginning  of  Turkish  bureauocracy  at  Mecca, 
1878 — Treaty  of  Berlin.    Reforms  promised  in  Turkish  Provinces. 
1880 — Hasein,  Sherif  of  Mecca,  is  nmrdered. 
1881-82 — Abd  el  Mutalib  again  Sherif  of  Mecca. 
1882 — Ann  er  Rafik  made  Sherif  of  Mecca. 

1886 — Mohammed   Ibn  Rashid  takes  Riad  overturning  Saud  gov- 
ernment and  becomes  ruler  of  all  Central  Arabia. 


n 


Appendix  II 


TABLE  OF  THE  ARAB  TRIBES  OF  NORTHERN 
ARABIA 


I.    TheAnaeze: 


U^alid  Alt 

EUHessene 

Er-Riiwalla 
(or  Jilas) 

El-Beshr 


El  Meshadaka. 

El  Meshatta. 

El  Hammamede. 

El  Jedaleme. 

El  Toluh, 

El  Hessene  (proper). 

Messalih. 

El  Ruwalla  (proper). 

Um  Halif. 

'X-        AT     ,1      (  Fedan. 
TanaMajid      j  g^^^^^ 

f  Medeyan. 
Selga    -}  Metarafe. 

(_  Aulad  Suleiman. 


11.    Ahl  Es-Shemmal  :  ■ 
(Northern  tribes) 


El  Mowaly. 
El  Howeytat. 
El  Hadedin. 
Es-Soleyb. 

A     ^,    ^i'll^^H  jElFeheily. 

Bni  Sokhr  '"'^"  <  Es-Serdye. 

_  Bni  Heteym. 


'  Arabs  of  Kerak. 
Esh-Sherarat. 


III.    Ahl  el-Kibly  : 
(Southernly  tribes) 


Bni-Shammar 


El-Jerba. 
El  Jofeir. 
El  Akeydat. 
Bni  Sayd. 
El-Wouled. 
_  El-Bakara. 

413 


(-  El  Temeyat. 

iEl  Menjat. 
Ibn  Ghazy. 
Bayr. 
El-Fesyani. 


Appendix  III 


AN  ARABIAN  BIBLIOGRAPHY 
A.     The  Geography  of  Arabia 

Andrew,  (Sir  W.  P.)— The  Euphrates  Valley  Route  (London,  1882). 

Barthema,  (Ludovico.) — Travels  in  Arabia  translated  by  Richard  Eden 

(1576). 
Begum  of  Bhopal — Pilgrimage  to  Mecca  (London,  1870). 
Blunt,  (Lady  Ann.) — A  pilgrimage  to  Nedj,  2  vols.  (London,  1883). 

"  "         "      — The  Bedouins  of  the  Euphrates  (London,  1879). 

Buist,  (Dr.) — Physical  Geography  of  the  Red  Sea  (no  date). 
Burckhardt,  (John  Lewis.) — Notes  on  the  Bedouins  and  Wahabis,  2  vols. 

(London,  1830;  in  German,  Weimar,  1831). 
Burckhardt,  (John   Lewis.) — Travels  in  Arabia,  2  vols.  (London,  1830). 
Burton,  (Richard.) — Personal   Narrative  of  a  pilgrimage  to  El  Medina 

and  Mecca  (London,  1857). 

Chesney — Survey  of  the  Euphrates  and  Tigris,  4  vols.  (London,  1850). 
Cloupet — Nonveau  Voyage  dans  I'Arabie  Heureuse  en  1788  (Paris,  1810). 
Constable,  (Capt.  C.   G.,  and   Lieut.  A.  W.  Stifle.) — The   Persian   Gulf 

Pilot  (London,  1870,  1893). 
Cruttenden,   (C.   J.) — Journal  of  an  excursion  to   Sana'a  the  capital  of 

Yemen  (Bombay,  1838). 

Doughty,  (C.  M.) — Arabia  Deserta,  2  vols.  (Cambridge,  1888). 

Fogg,  (W.  P.)— Arabistan  (London,  1875). 

Forster — Geography  of  Arabia,  2  vols.  (London). 

Frede,  (P.) — La  Peche  aux  Perles  en  Perse  et  a  Ceylan  (Paris,  1890). 

Fresnel — Lettres  in  Journal  Asiatique  iii.  Series  v.  521. 

Galland — Recueil  des   Rites  et  Ceremonies  du  Pelerinage  de  la  Mecque 
(Amsterdam,  1754). 

Haig,  (F.  T.,  Maj.  Gen.) — A  Journey  through  Yemen.     Proceedings  of 

the  Roy.  Geog.  Soc.  of  London,  vol.  ix.,  No.  8. 
Harris,  (W.  B.) — A  Journey  through  Yemen  (London,  1893). 
Hunter,  (F.  M.) — Statistical  Account  of  the   British  Settlement  of  Aden 

(London,  1877). 
Hurgronje,  (Snouck.) — Mekka,  mit  bilder  atlas,  2  vols.     (Hague,  i{ 

414 


APPENDIX  III  415 

Iivvin,  (Eyle.) — Adventures  in  a  voyage  up  the  Red  Sea  on  the  coasts  of 
Arabia,  etc.,  in  1777  (London,  1780). 

jaubert — Geographie  d'Edresi  (in  Arabic  and  French,  Paris,  1836). 
Jomard — Etudes  Geog.  et  Hist,  sur  I'Arabie  (in  vol.  iii.  Mengin's  History 
of  Egypt. 

King,  (J.  S.) — Description  of  the  island  of  Perim  (Bombay  Government 
Records  No.  49). 

La  Roque — A  voyage  to  Arabia  the  Happy,  etc.  (London,  1726). 

Makramah,  (Aboo  Abd  Allah  ibn  Achmed.) — A  Manuscript  History  of 

Aden  (see  Hunter's  account). 
Manzoni  —  EI  Yemen;  Tre  anni  nell'Arabia  felic^  (Rome,  1884). 
Michaelis — Receuil  de   Questiones  proposees  a  une  Societe  de  Savants 

qui  par   ordre   de   Sa  Majestic   Danoise   font  le  voyage  de  I'Arabie 

(Amsterdam,  1774). 

Niebuhr,  (Carsten.) — Original  edition  in  German  (Copenhagen,  1772). 

"  "         — In  French  edition  (Amsterdam,  1774). 

Niebuhr,  (Carsten.) — Travels  through  Arabia  trans,  into  English  by  Rob- 
ert Heron,  2  vols.  (Edinburgh,  1792). 

Ouseley,  (Sir  W.) — Oriental  Geography  of  Ibn  Haukal. 

"  "     "     — Travels  in  Persia  and  Arabia,  3  vols.  (London,  1800). 

Palgrave — Travels  in  Eastern  Arabia  (London,  1863). 

Parsons,  (Abraham.) — Travels  in  Asia     .     .     .     including  Mocha  and 

Suez  (London,  1808). 
Phillips — -Map  of  Arabia  and  Egypt  with  index  (London,  1888). 
Prideaux — Some  recent  discoveries  in   Southwest   Arabia    (Proceedings 
Soc.  Bib.  Archaelogy,  London). 

Schapira — Travels  in  Yemen  (1877). 

Seetzen — Travels  in  Yemen  (1810). 

Sprenger,  (A.) — Die  alte  Geographie  Arabiens  als  Grundlage   der  Ent- 

wicklungsgeschichte  des  Semitismus  (Berne,  1875). 
Sprenger,  (A.) — Die  Post-  und  Reiserouten  des  Orients  (1864). 
Stanley,  (Dean.) — Sinai  and  Palestine. 
Stern,   (Rev.   A.)— A    journey   to   Sana'a  in  1856  (Jewish   Intelligencer, 

vol.  xxiii.,  pp.  loi  seq. 
Stevens — Yemen  (1873). 

Taylor,  (Bayard.) — Travels  in  Arabia  (New  York). 

Tuck — Essay  on  Siniatic  Inscriptions  in  the  Journal  of  German  Oriental 
Society,  vol.  xiv.,  pp.  129  seq. 

Van  den  Berg,  (L.  W.  C.) — Hadramaut  and  the  Arabian  colonies  in 
the  Indian  Archipelago.  Translated  from  the  Dutch  by  Major  See- 
ley  (Bombay  Govt.  Records  No.  212  new  series). 


416  APPENDIX  III 

Van  Maltzen,  (H.  I.) — Reisen  in  Arabien  (Braunschweig  1873). 
Vincent's — Periplus  of  the  Erythrean  Sea. 
Von  Wrede,  (Adolph.) — Reise  in  Hadramaut. 

Wellstead,  (Lieutenant.) — Travels  in  Arabia  (London,  1838). 

"  "  — Narrative  of  a  journey  to  the  ruins  of  Nakeb 

el  Hajar  (Journal  Roy.  Geo.  Soc.  vii.  20). 
Whish — Memoir  on  Bahrein  (1859). 
Wiistenfeld  (F.) — Baherein  und  Jemameh. 


B.    Manners  and  Customs^ 

Arabian  Nights — (Various  editions). 

Baillie,  (N.  B.  E.) — The  Mohammedan  law  of  sale  (London,  1850). 

"  *'  — Mohammedan  Law  Hanifi  code  (London,  1865). 

"  "  — Mohammedan  Law  Imamia  code  (London,  1869). 

Boyle,  (J.  B.  S.) — Manual  of  Mohammedan  Laws  (Lahore,  1873). 
Burckhardt's — Arabic  Proverbs  (London). 

"  — Notes  on  the  Bedouins  and  Wahabis,  (London,  1831). 

Grady,  (S.  G.) — The  Mohammedan  Law  of  inheritance  (London,  1869). 

Hamilton,  (Charles.) — Hedaya  or  Guide;  a  commentary  on  the  Mussul- 
man Laws  (London,  1886). 

Jessup,  (H.  H.) — Women  of  the  Arabs  (New  York,  1874). 

Kremer,  (Alfred  Von.) — Kultur  Geschichte  des  Orients,   2  vols.  (Wien, 
1875-77). 

Lane's — Manners  and  Customs  of  Modern  Egyptians,  2  vols.  (London). 
"      — Arabian  Nights,  with  Notes,  4  vols.  (London). 

Meer,  (Mrs.  Hassan  Ali.) — Observations  on  the   Mussulmans  (London, 
1832). 

Rumsey,  (Almaric.) — Mohammedan  law  of  Inheritance  (London,  1886). 

Smith,  (Robertson.) — Kinship  and  Marriage  in  early  Arabia  (Cambridge). 
Syeed,  (Ameer  Ali.) — Personal  law  of  Mohammedans  (London,  1880). 

Tornauw — Das  Moslemische  Recht  (1885). 

Trumbull's,  H.  C.)— The  Blood  Covenant  (Philadelphia,  1891). 

Von  Hammer,  (Purgstall.) — Die  Geisterlehre  der  Moslimen  (Wien,  1S52). 
•  Consult  Bibliographies  of  Palestine  and  Syria  with  reference  to  Nomad  life. 


APPENDIX  III  417 

C.     History  of  Arabia' 

Abu   Jaafer    Muhammed    et   Tabbari — Tareek  el    mulook ;  Arabic   and 

Latin.     Edit.  Kosegarten  (Leipsic,  1754). 
Abulfida — Annales  Muslemici.     Arab,  et  Latin.     Various  editions. 

Badger,  (George  Percy.) — History  of  the  Imams  and  Seyyids  of  Oman 
by  Salil  Ibn  Razik  from  A.  D.,  661-1856.  Trans,  with  intro.  and 
notes  (London,  187 1). 

Blau,  Otto — Arabien  im  Zechsten  jaarhundert.  Zeitschift  des  Deutsch. 
Morgenland.     Gezel.  xviii.  B. 

Clark,  E.  L. — The  Arabs  and  the  Turks  (Boston). 
Crichton — History  of  Arabia  and  its  people  (London,  1844). 

D'Herbelot — Bibliotheque  Orientale  (Maestricht,  1776). 

Doughty,  (C.)— Documents  epigraphiques  recueillis  dans  le  nord  de 
I'Arabie  (avec  preface  et  traduction  des  inscriptions  nabateennes  de 
Medain-Salih  par  E.  Renan).     With  57  plates  4to.  (Paris,  1884.) 

Dozy,  R. — De  Israeliten  te  Mekka  (Leyden,  1864). 

"     "  — Essai  sur  I'Histoire  del'  Islamisme  (Paris,  1879). 

Eichhorn — Monumenta  Antiquissima  Hist.  Arabum  (Gotha,  1775). 

Faria  y  Souza — Manuel  de  Asia  Portuguesa  (Lisbon,  1666). 

Flugel,  Gustav — Geschichte  der  Araber  bis  auf  den  sturtz  des  Chalifats 

von  Bagdad,  2  vols.  (Leipzig,  1864). 
Foster,  Rev.  C. — The  historical  geography  of  Arabia  (London,  1844). 
Freeman — History  of  the  Saracens. 
Fresnel — Lettres  sur  hist,  des  Arabes  avant  I'lslamisme.     Journal  Asi- 

atique  (1 838-1853). 

Gibbon's — Decline  and  fall  of  the  Roman  Empire  (Chaps.  1.,  li.,  lii.). 
Gilman,  A. — The  Saracens  (Story  of  Nations)  (London,  1891). 

Haji  Khalifah — Hist,  of  the  Maritime  wars  of  the  Turks.  Translated 
from  the  Turkish  by  James  Mitchell  (London,  1831). 

Hallam's — History  of  the  Middle  Ages  (Chapter  vi.). 

Hammer-Purgstall — Gemaldesaal  der  Lebensbeschreibungen  grosser  Mos- 
limischer  Herscher  (Leipzig,  1837). 

Hamza  Ispahaneusis — Tarikh  Saniy  Mulook  el  Ardh,  Arab.  Lat.  ed. 
Gottwaldt  (St.  Petersburg,  1844). 

Jergis  EI  Mekin — Hist.  Saracenica  Arab,  et  Lat.  (Leyden,  1625). 

Khuzraji,  Ali  bin  Hoosain  El — History  of  Yemen  (Jl/SS.  in  Records  of 
Residency  at  Aden). 

Milman's — Latin  Christianity  Bk.  iv.  chaps,  i.,  ii. 

Muir — Annals  of  Early  Caliphate  (London,  1S83).   (See  under  Religion). 
"    — The  Caliphate,  its  Rise,  Decline  and  Fall  (London,  1891). 

'  Consult  also  list  in  Oilman's  Saracens. 


418  APPENDIX  III 

Ockley,  S. — History  of  the  Saracens  (London,  1708). 

Perceval,    A.    P.    Caussin    de — Essaisur    I'Histoire    des    Arabes    avant 

Islamisme  (Paris,  1836). 
Playfair,  R.  L. — History  of  Arabia  Felix  (Bombay,  1859), 
Pocock,  Eduardo — Specimen  Hist.  Arab,  ex  Abul  Feda  (Oxford  1650). 

Quartermere — Memoire  sur  les  Nabatheen. 

Rasmussen — Addimenta  ad  Hist.  Arab,  ante  Islam. 

Redhouse,  J.  W. — A  Tentative  Chronological  Synopsis  of  the  history  of 

Arabia    and  its  neighbors  from  B.  C.   500000    [ !  ]   to   A.  D.    679 

(London,  1890). 
Roesch,  A. — Die  Koningen  von  Saba  als  Konigin  Bilqis  (Leipzig,  1880). 
Rycant — The  present  state  of  the  Ottoman  Empire  (London,  1675). 

Sachan,  C.  Edward — The  Chronology  of  Ancient  Nations ;  an  English 
version  of  Arabic  "  Vestiges  of  the  past,"  A.  H,  390-1000 
(London,  1S85). 

Schmolder — Sur  les  Ecoles  Philosophique  chezles  Arabes  (Paris,  1842). 

Schulten — Hist.  Imperii  vetus  Joctanidarum  (Hard.  Gelderland,  1786), 
"       — Monumenta  Vetustiora  Arab  (Leyden,  1740). 

Sedillot — Hist.  gen.  des  Arabes  (Paris,  1877). 

Souza — Documentos  Arabicos  para  a  hist.  Portuguesa  (Lisbon,  1790). 

Weil,  Gustav — Geschichte  der  Chalifen,  3  vols.  (Mannheim,  1846-51), 
"  "      — Geschichte  der  Islamisher  Volker  von  Mohammed  bis  zur 

zeit  des  Sultan  Selim  (Stuttgart,  1S66). 

Wiistenfeld,  F. — Die  Geschichtschreiber  der  Araber  und  ihrer  Werke 
(Gottingen,  1882). 

Wiistenfeld,  F. — Vergleichungs  Tabellen  der  Muh.  und  Christ.  Zeitrech- 
nung  (Leipzig,  1854). 

Wiistenfeld,  F. — Die  Chroniken  der  stadt  Mekka  gesammelt,  und  her- 
ausgegeben,  Arab.  Deutsch,  4  vols.  (Leipzig,  1857). 

Wiistenfeld,  F. — Genealogische  Tabellen  der  Arabische  Stamme  (Got- 
tingen, 1852). 

D.  Islam 

Addison,  Lancelot — State  of  Mahumedism  (London,  1679). 

Akehurst,    Rev.    G. — Impostures    instanced    in    the   life  of   Mohammed 

(London,  1859). 
Alcock,    N. — The    rise    of    Mohammedanism    accounted    for    (London, 

1796). 
Anonymous — Life  of  Mohammed  (London,  1799). 

"         — Reflections  on  Mohammedanism  !  (London,  1735). 

"         — The    morality  of   the   East   as  extracted  from   the   Koran 

(London,  1766). 
Arnold,  Matthew — Essay  on  Persian  Miracle  Play  (London,  1S71). 
"       Edwin— Pearls  of  the  Faith  (Boston,  1883). 
"      J.  M. — Ishmael,  or  the  natural  aspect  of  Islam  (London,  1859). 


/IPPENDIX  III  419 

Arnold,  J.  M. — Islam  and  Christianity  (London,  1874). 

"      T.  W. — The  Preaching  of  Islam  :    A  history  of  the  Propagation  of 
the  Muslim  faith  (London,  1896). 

Bate,  J.  D. — Claims  of  Ishmael  (Benares,  1884). 
Bedwell,  W. — Mahomet's  Imposture  (London,  1615), 

"         <<  — Mahomet  unmasked  (London,  1642). 
Beverly,  R.  M. — A  reply  to  Higgins  [See  Higgins,]  1829. 
Blochman,  II. — 'Ain  i  Akbari  of  Abdul   Fazl,  (Eng.  trans.)   (Calcutta, 

1868). 
Blunt,  W.  S.— The  Future  of  Islam  (London,  1881). 
Blyden — Islam,  Christianity  and  the  Negro  Race. 
Bonlainvilliers,    Count — Life     of    Mohammed.     Translation.    (London, 

1731)- 
Brinckman,  A. — Notes  on  Islam  (London,  186S). 

Brydges,  H.  J. — History  of  the  Wahabis  (London,  1834). 

Burton,  R.  F. — The  Jew,  the  Gipsey  and  El  Islam  (London,  1 898). 

Bush,  Rev.  George — Life  of  Mohammed  (New  York,  1844). 

Carlyle,  Thos. — Heroes  and  Hero- Worship  (London,  1840). 
Cazenhove,  Dr. — Mahometanism  (Christian  Remembrancer,  Jan.,  1855). 

Daumer,  G.  F. — Mahomed  und  sein  Werk  (Hamburg,  1848). 

Davenport,  John — Apology  for  Mohammed  (London,  1869). 

De  Goeje^ — Memoire  sur  les  Carmathes  de  Baherein  (Leyden,  1S63). 

Deulsch,  Emanuel — Essay  on  Islam  (London,  1874). 

De    Worde — A    Lytell    Treatyse   of    the    Turkes    Law    called   Alcoran 

(London). 
Dods,  Marcus — Mohammed  Buddha  and  Christ  (London,  1878). 
Dollinger — Mohammed's  Religion  nach  ihrer  Inneren  Entwicklung  und 

ihrem  Einfliisse  (Ratisbon,  183S). 
Dozy — L'Histoire  d  Islamisme  (Leyden,  1879). 

"   — Het  Islamisme  (Leyden,  1879). 
Dugat,  Gustave — Histoire  des  philos.  et  des  theol.  Musulmans  de  632- 

1258  J.  C.  (Paris,  1878). 
Duveyrier,    H. — La    conferie    Musulmane    de    Sidi    Moh.    bin   All    Es- 

Senonsi  (Paris,  1886). 

Falke   R. — Budda,  Mohammed,  Christus ;  ein   vergleich  u.  z.  w.  (Giiter- 

sloh,  1897). 
Forster,  Rev.  C. — Mahometanism  unveiled,  2  vols.  (London,  1829). 

Gagnier,  J. — Ismael    Abulfeda,   De   Vita  et  Rebus  gestis  Mohammedis 

(Oxford,  1723). 
Galland — Recueil  des   Rites  et  Ceremonies  du  pelerinage  de  la  Mecque 

(Amst.,  1754). 
Garnett,  L.  M.  J. — The  Women   of  Turkey  and  their  folk-lore  (London, 

1891).  T^P- 

Geiger  Rabbi — Judaism  and  Islam  [translation  of  the  above]   (Madras, 

1898). 
Geiger  Rabbi — Was  hat  Mohammed  aus  das  Judenthume  aufgenommen  ? 

(Wiesbaden,  1833). 


420  APPENDIX  III 

Georgens,  E.  P. — Der  Islam  und  die  moderne  Kultur  (Berlin,  1879). 
Gerock — Versuch  einer  Darstellung  der  Christologie  des  Korans  (Ham- 
burg, 1839). 
Gibbon — Decline  and  Fall  of  Roman  Empire  (in  loco). 
Gmelin,  M.  F. — Christenschlaverei  und  de  Islam  (Berlin,  1873). 
Guyard,  S. — La  civilization  Musulmane  (Paris,  if" 


Haines,  C.  R. — Islam  as  a  Missionary  Religion  (London,  1888). 
Hamilton,  C. — The   Hedayah,   a  commentary   on    Moslem   law   Trans. 

(London,  1791.)     (Edition  by  Grady,  1890). 
Hauri,  Johannes — Der  Islam  in  seinem  Einfluss  auf  das  leben  seiner  be- 

kenner  (Leyden,  18S0). 
Herclots,  Dr. — Qanoon-el-Islam  (London,  1832). 

Higgins,  G. — An  Apology  for  the  life  of  Mohammed  (London,  1829). 
Hughes,  F.  P. — Notes  on  Mohammedanism  (London,  1875). 

II         II  II  — Dictionary  of  Islam  (New  York  and  London,  1885). 
Hurgronje,  C.  Snouck — Het  Mekkaansche  Feest  (Leyden,  1880). 

"  "         "      — Mekka:  mit  bilder  atlas,  (The  Hague,  1880), 

Inchbald,  Rev.  P. — Animadversions  on   Higgins,  (Doncaster,  1830). 
Irving,  Washington — Life  of  Mahomet  (London,  1850). 

"  "         — Successors  of  Mahomet  (London,  1852). 

Jansen,    H. — Verbreitung  des   Islams,  u.  z.  vf.,   in  den  verschiedeuen, 

Landern  der  Erde,  1890-1897  (Berlin,  1898). 
Jessup,  H.  H. — The  Mohammedan  Missionary  Problem  (Phila.,  1889). 

Keller,  A. — Der    Geisteskampf  des  Christentums  gegen  den  Islam  bis 

zur  Zeit  der  Kreuzziige  (Leipzig,  1897). 
Koelle,  S.  W. — Mohammed  and    Mohammedanism  critically  considered 

(London,  1888). 
Koelle,  S.  W.— Food  for  Reflection  (London,  1865). 
Koran  :  (Editions  and  translations). 

— English    versions:    Alexander    Ross    (from  French,  1649-1688), 

Sale  (1734),  Rodwell  (1861),  Palmer  (1880). 
— First  h.xti\Ac,  printed  text,  at  Rome,  1530  (Brixiensis). 
Arabic  text,  Hinkelmann  (Hamburg,  1649). 
"        and  Latin  text, — Maracci  (Padua,  1698). 
"        text — Empress  Catherine  II.  (St.  Petersburg,  1787). 
«         «  ..  I.  11    (  i<  .1  1790,  1793, 

1796,  1798). 

"         "        Empress  Catherine,  II.  (Kasan,  1803,  1809,  1839). 

"        (critical  edition)  G.  Fliigel,  (Leipzig,  1834,  1842,  1869). 
— French,  Savary  (1783)  and  Kasimirski  (Paris,  1840,  1841,  1857). 
— French  version,  Du  Ryer  (Paris,  1647). 
— German  versions :    Boysen  (1773),  Wahl  (1828),  Ullmann  (1840, 

1853). 
— German  version,  Schweigger  (Nurnberg,  1616). 
— Latin  version,  Robert  and  Hermann  (Basle,  1543). 
• — Russian  version  (St.  Petersburg,  1776). 
Translations    exist    also   in    the  other  European  languages;  and  in 


APPENDIX  III  421 

Persian,  Urdu,  Pushto,  Turkish,  Javan,  and  Malayan  made  by 
Moslems. 
Koran  Commentaries: — ("  There  are  no  less  than  20,000  in  the  library 

at  Tripolis  alone  " — Arnold's  Islam  and  Christianity,  p.  81). 
The  most  important  are, — (Sunni) — 
Al  Baghawi,  A.  H.  515.  At-Tafsir  '1  Kebir,  A.  H.  606. 

Al  Baidhawi,  A.  H.  685.  Azizi,  A.  H.  1239,  (and  Shiah). — 

Al  Jalalan,  A.  H.  864  and  91 1.  Az-Zamakhshari,  A.  H.  604. 

Al  Mazhari,  A.  H.  1225.  Hussain,  A.  H.  900. 

Al  Mudarik,  A.  H.  701.  Ibn  u'l  Arabi,  A.  H.  628. 

ArRazi  (30  vols.),  A.  II.  606.  Mir  Bakir,  A.  H.  1041. 

As-Safi,  A.  H.  668.  Saiyid  Hasham,  A.  H.  1160. 

As-sirru'l  wajiz,  A.  II.  715.  Sheikh  Saduk,  A.  H.  381. 

Krehl,  C.  L.  E. — Das  leben  des  Moham.  (Leipzig,  1884). 
Kremer,  Von   Alfred — Geschichte  der   Heerschende   Ideen  des  Islams: 

Der  Gottsbegriff,  die  Prophetic  und  Staatsidee  (Leipzig,  1868). 

La  Chatelier,  A. — LTslam  an  XIXc  siecle  (Paris,  1888). 

Lake,  J.  J. — Islam,  its  origin,  genius  and  mission  (London,  1878). 

Lamairesse,  E.,  (et  G.  Dujarric.) — Vie  de  Mahomet  d'apres  la  tradition, 

vol.  i.  (Paris,  1898). 
Lane-Poole,  Stanley — Studies  in  a  Mosque  (London,  1883). 

"         "  "      — Table-talk  of  Mohammed  (London,  1882). 

Lane — Selections  from  the  Koran  (London,  1879). 

MacBride,  J.  D. — The  Mohammedan  Religion  Explained  (London,  1859). 

Maitland,  E. — England  and  Islam  (London,  1877). 

Marracio,  L. — Refutatio  Al  Coran  (Batavii,  1698). 

Marten,  Henry — Controversial  Tracts  on  Christianity  and  Islam,  by  the 
Rev.  S.  Lee  (edited  Cambridge,  1824). 

Matthews — The  Mishkat  (traditions)  translation  (Calcutta,  1809). 

Merrick,  J.  L. — The   life  and  religion  of  Mohammed  from   Sheeah  tra- 
ditions (translated  from  Persian)  (Boston,  1850). 

Mills,  C. — The  History  of  Muhammedanism  (London,  1817). 

Mills,  W.  H.— The  Muhammedan  System  ( —  1828). 

Mochler,  J.  A.— The  relation  of  Islam  to  the  Gospel  (translation)  (Cal- 
cutta, 1847). 

Mohler,    J.    A. — Ueber    das   Verhaltniss    des    Islams   zum    Evangelium 
(1830). 

Morgan,  Joseph — Mohammedanism  E.xplained  (London,  1723). 

Muir,  Sir  William — Life  of  Mahomet,  4  vols.  (London,  1858  and  1897). 
"       "         "        — Rise  and   Decline  of  Islam  (in  Present  Day  Tracts, 
London, 1887). 

Muir,  Sir  William — Mahomet  and  Islam  (London,  1890). 

"       "         "        — Sweet  First  Fruits.  Translated  from  Arabic.   (London, 

1896). 
"       "         "        — The  apology  of   Al   Kindy,  translated  from  Arabic 
(London,  1887). 

Muir,  Sir  William — The  Coran :     Its  composition  and  teaching  and  the 
testimony  it  bears  to  the  Holy  Scriptures  (London,  1878). 

Muir,  Sir  William — The  Beacon  ofTruth  (from  Arabic)    (London,  1897.) 


422  APPENDIX  III 

Muir,  Sir  William — The  Caliphate  (London,  1897). 

"       "         "        — The  Mohammedan  Controversy  (Edinburgh,  1897). 
Miiller,  F.  A. — Der  Islam  im  Morgen  und  Abendlanden  (Berlin,  1885). 
Murray,  Rev.  W. — Life  of  Mohammed,  according  to  Abu  El  Fida  (Elgin, 
no  date). 

Neale,  F.  A. — Islamism,  its  Rise  and  Progress  (London,  1854). 
Niemann,  G.  K. — Inleiding    tot    de    keunisvanden    Islam    (Rotterdam, 

1861). 
Noldecke,  T. — Geschichte  des  Qurans  (Gottingen,  i860). 

"  "  — Das  Leben  Muhammeds  (Hanover,  1863). 

Oelsner,  C.  E. — Des  effets  de  la  religion  de  Mohammed  (Paris,  18 10). 
Osborn,  Major — Islam  under  the  Arabs,  (London,  1876). 
"  "     — Islam  under  the  Caliphs  (London,  1878). 

Pfander,  Doctor — The  Mizan  El  Hak  (translated  from  Persian)  (London, 

1867). 
Pfander,  Doctor — Miftah  ul  Asrar  (Persian)  (Calcutta,  1839). 

"  "       — Tarik  ul  Hyat,  Persian  (Calcutta,  1840J. 

Palgrave,  W.  G. — Essays  on  Eastern  Question  (London,  1872). 

"  "     "  — Travels  in  Central  and  Eastern  Arabia. 

Palmer,  E.  H. — The  Koran  translated,  2  vols.  (Oxford,  1880). 
Pelly,  Lewis — The  Miracle  Play  of  Hasan  and  Hussain  (London,  1879). 
Perron — LTslamisme,  Son  Institutions,  etc.  (Paris,  1877). 

"      — Femmes  Arabes  avant  et  depuis  ITslamisme  (Paris,  1858). 
Pitts,  Joseph — Religion  and  manners  of  Mahometans  (O.xford,  1704). 
Prideaux,  H. — The    True    Nature    of    the    Imposture    fully    explained 
(London,  17 18). 

Rabadan — Mahometanism  (Spanish  and  Arabic)  1603. 

Reland  (and  others) — Four  Treatises  (on  Islam)  (London,  17 12). 

Rod  well,  J.  M. — The  Koran,  Translated  (London,  187 1). 

Roebuck,  J.  A. — Life  of  Mahomet  (London,  1833). 

Ross,  Alexander — The  Koran  (London,  1642). 

Rumsey,  A. — Al  Sirajiyeh.     Translated  (London,  1869). 

Ryer,  Andre  du — Life  of  Mahomet  (London,  17 18). 

Sale — Translation  of  the  Koran  with  preliminary  discourse  (London,  1734). 
Scholl,  Jules  Charles — LTslam  et  son   fondateur :    Etude  morale   (Neu- 

chatel,  1874). 
Sell,  Rev.  E. — The  Faith  of  Islam  (Madras,  1880  and  London,  1897). 

"  "      "  — The  Historical  Development  of  the  Quran  (Madras,  1898). 

Smith,  Bosworth — Mohammed  and  Mohammedanism  (London,  1876). 
Smith,  H.  P. — The  Bible  and  Islam  (New  York  and  London,  1897). 
Sprenger,   Aloys — Das    leben    und    die    Lehre    des  Mohammed,  3  vols. 

(Berlin,  1S65). 
Sprenger,  A. — Life  of  Mohammed  from  original  sources  (Allahabad,  1 851)'. 
Steinschneider,  Moritz — Polemische    Literatur    in    Arabischer     Sprache 

(Leipzig,  1877). 
Stevens,  W.  R.  \V, — Christianity  and  Islam  (London,  1877). 


/tPPENDIX  m  423 

St.  Hilaire,  T.  Bartholomew  de — Mahomet  et  le  Coran  (Paris,  1865), 
Stobart,  J.  W.  H. — Islam  and  its  Founder  (London,  1876). 
Syeed,  Ahmed  Khan — Essays  on  the  life  of  Mohammed  (London,  iSjo)* 
Syeed,  Ameer  Ali — A  critical  examination  of  the  life  and  teachings  of 
Mohammed  (London,  1873). 

Tassy,  Garcin  de — L'Islamisme  d'apres  le  Coran  (Paris,  1874). 
Taylor,  W.  C. — The  Hist,  of  Mohammedanism  (London,  1834). 
Thiersant,  P.  Dabry  de — Le  Mahometisme  en  Chine  (Paris,  1878). 
Tisdall,  W.  St.  Clair— The  Religion  of  the  Crescent  (London,  1896). 
Turpin,  F.  H. — Hist,  de  la  vie  de  Mahomet,  3  vols.  (Paris,  1773). 

Wallich,  J. — Religio  Turcia  et  Mahometis  Vita  (1659). 

Weil,  Gustav — Das  leben  Mohammed ;  nach  Ibn  Ishak  bearbeit  von  Ibn 
Hisham,  2  vols.  (Stuttgart,  1864). 

Weil,  Gustav — Historische-Kritische  Einleitung  in  den  Koran  (Biele- 
feld, 1844). 

Wherry,  E.  M. — Commentary  on  the  Quran,  5  vols.  (London,  1882). 

White,  J. — Bampton  Lectures  (on  Islam)  (Oxford,  1784). 

Wollaston,  Arthur  N. — Half  Hours  with  Mohammed  (London,  1890). 

Wortabet,  John — Researches  into  Religions  of  Syria,  (London,  i860). 

Wiistenfeld,  H.  F. — Das  leben  Muhammeds,  3  vols.  (Gottingen,  1857.) 
"  "     "     — Geschichte    der    Stadt   Mekka,   4   vols.    (Leipzig, 

1857-61). 

Zotenberg — Tareek-i-Tabari.     Translated. 

E.  Christianity  and  Missions  * 

Birks,  Herbert — Life  and  Correspondence  of  Bishop  T.  V.  French  (Lon- 
(don,  1895). 

Jessup,  H.  H. — The  Setting  of  the  Crescent  and  the  Rising  of  the  Cross  or 
Kamil  Abdul  Messiah  (Philadelphia,  1898). 

Jessup,  H.  H. — The  Mohammedan  Missionary  Problem  (Phila.,  1879). 

Sinker,  Robert — Memoir  of  Ion  Keith  Falconer  (Cambridge,  1886). 

T/ie  Arabian  Mission.  Quarterly  Letters  and  Annual  Reports,  special 
papers  on  missionary  journeys  from  1890-1899  (New  York.) 

Wright,  Thomas — Early  Christianity  in  Arabia;  a  historical  essay  (Lon- 
don, 1855).  This  book  gives  a  complete  account  of  the  early  spread 
of  Christianity  and  cites  authorities,  which  being  mostly  in  Latin,  are 
omitted  here, 

F.  Language  and  Literature 

Abcarius — English-Arabic  Dictionary  (Beirut,  1882). 
Ahlwardt,  W. — The   Divans   of  the  six  ancient  Arabic  Poets  (London, 
1890). 

'  Consult  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society  Reports  for  account  of  Scripture  circu- 
lation ;  the  Free  Church  of  Scotland  Monthly  for  reports  of  Keith  Falconer  Mission; 
the  Church  Missionary  Intelligencer,  1887,  vol.  xii.,  pp.  215,  273,  346,  408;  Mission- 
ary Review  0/ the  World,  1892-1899,  Octobernumbers. 


424  APPENDIX  III 

Ahlwardt,  W. — IJber  die  Poesie  und  Poetiek  der  Araber  (Gotlia,  1S56). 

"         "    — Bemerkungen  iiber  die  achtheid  der  Alten  Arab.  Gedich- 

ten  (Griefswald,  1872). 
Arnold,  F.  A. — Arabic  Chrestomathy,  2  parts  (Halis,  1853). 
Arnold,  F.  A. — Septem  M'oallakat  (Leipzic,  1850). 

Badger,  G.  P. — English-Arabic  Lexicon  (London,  1881). 
Birdwood,  Allan  B. — An  Arabic  Reading  Book  (London,  1891). 

Cadri,  Moh. — Guide  to  Arab.  Conversation  (Alexandria,  1879). 

Caspari,  C.  P. — Arab.  Grammatik  (Halle,  1876). 

Caussin  de  Perceval — Grammaire  Arabe.  (Paris,  1880). 

Cheikho,  P.  L. — Chrestomathia  Arabica  cumlexico  variisque  notis  (Beirut, 

'^97)- 
Clodius,  J.  C. — Gram.  Arabica  (Leipzig,  1729). 
Clouston — Arabic  Poetry  for  English  Readers  (Glasgow,  1889). 

De  Goeje,  Prof. — A   complete   account   of  the    authorship,    etc.,  of  the 

Arabian  Nights  ("  De  Gids,"  Amsterdam,  Sept.,  1886). 
Derenbourg,  H.  and  Spiro  J. — Chrestomathy  (Paris,  1885). 
Dieterici,  Fr. — Thier  und  IVIensch  vor  dem    koning  der  Genien  u.  z.  w. 

(Leipzig,  1881). 
Dieterici,    Fr. — Arabisches-Deutsch  Wortenbuch  zum  Koran  und  Thier 

und  Mensch  (Leipzig,  1881). 
Dieterici,    Fr. — Die  Arabische  Dicht-Kunst  (Berlin,  1850). 
Dombay,  Fr.  de — Gram.  Mauro-Arab.  (Vindob.,  1800). 
Dozy,  R.  P.  A. — Supplement  aux  dictionnaires  Arabes.,  2  vols.  (Leyden, 

1877). 
Dozy,  R.  P.  A. — [And  many  other  monographs  on  the  language.] 

Erpenius,  Th. — Grammatica,  etc.  (Leyden,  1767). 

Erpenius,  Th. — Rudimenta  Linguae  Ai'abicae,  Ed.  A.  Schultens  (Leyden, 

1770). 
Euting — Katalog  der  Arabische  Literatur  (Strassburg,  1877), 
Ewald,  G.  H.  A. — Gram.  Criticalinq.  Arab.,  2  vols.  (Lips.,  1831). 

Farhat,  G. — Diet.  Arabe-Frangaise  (Marseilles,  1849). 

Faris  Es  Shidiac — Arab.  Gram.  (London,  1856). 

Fleischer,  H.  L. — Tausend  und  eine   Nacht   (text  and  notes,    12    vols.) 

(Breslau,  1825-43). 
Fleisher,  M.  -H.  L. — Arabische  Spriiche  u.  z.  w.  (Leipzig,  1837). 
Fliigel,  G. — Die  Grammatische   Schulen   der  Araber  nach  den  Quellen 

bearbeidt  (Leipzig,  1862), 
Flugel — Kitab  El  Fihrist,  with  German  notes  (Leipzig,  1871-72). 
Fliigel,  Gustav — Lexicon    Bibliographicum    Arab.,   7  vols.  4to.  (Leipzig, 

1835--58). 
Forbes,  Duncan — Arabic  Grammar. 
Freytag — Einleitung  in  das  studium  der  Arabische  Sprache  (Bonn,  1861). 

"       — Lexicon,  Arab.  Lat.,  4  vols.  (Halis,  1830). 

"       —       "  "        (abridged  Halis,  1837). 

"      — Arabum  Proverbia  (3  vols.)  (Bonn,  1838). 


/tPPENDIX  III  425 

Giggejus,  A. — Thesaurus  linq.  Arabicae,  4  vols.  (Medioland,  1632). 
Gies,  H. — Zur  kentniss  sieben  Arabischer  Versarten  (Leipzig,  1879). 
Girgass    and     De    Rosen — Chrestomathy  (German  ed.    1S75.     Russian, 

St.  Petersburg,  1S76). 
Goeje,  De  M.  J. — Debelangryhheid  van  de  bevefening  d.  Arab,  taal  en 

letterkunde  (Hague,  1866). 
Golius,  J. — Lexicon  Arab.  Lat.  (Leyden,  1653). 
Green,  A.  O. — A  Practical  Arabic  Grammar  (Oxford,  1887). 

Hammer  Van  Purgstall — Literaturgescbichte  der  Araber:  Von  ihren  be- 
ginne  bis  zum  ende  des  Zwolfte  Jaluhunderts  der  Hidschret,  7  vols. 
(Wein,  1850-56). 

Heury,  J.— Vocab.  French-Arab.  (Beyrout,  1881). 

Hirth,  J.  Fr. — Anthologia  Arab.  (Jenae,  1774). 

Hoefer's  Zeitschrift — Ueber  die  Himyarische  Sprache  (vol.  i.,  225  sq). 

Jahn,  J. — Arabische  Chrestoinathie  (Wien,  1802). 

Jayaker,  A.  S.  G. — The  Omanese  Dialect  of  Arabic,  2  parts  (In  Journal 
R.  A.  S.,  of  Gt.  Britain). 

Kosengarten,  J. — Arab.  Chrestomathy  (Leipzig,  1828). 
Kremer,  A.  von — Lexikographie  Arab.  (Vienna,  1883). 

Lane,  E.  W. — An  Arabic  English  Dictionary  (i.-viii.)  (London,  1863-89). 
"      W. — The  Thousand  and  One  Nights,  with  notes,  edited,  3  vols. 
(London,  1841). 
Lansing,  J.  G. — Arabic  Grammar  (Nev^^  York,  1890). 

Mac  Naghten,  \V.  H. — Thousand  and  One  Nights  literally  transl.,  4 
vols.  (Calcutta,  1839). 

Newman,  F.  W. — Dictionary,  2  vols.  (London,  1890), 

«         u     «  — Handbook  of  Modern  Arabic  (London,  1890). 

Noldeke,  Th. — Beitrage  zur  Kentniss  d.  Poesie  d.  alten  Araber,  (Hanover, 
1864). 

Oberleitner,  A. — Chrestomathia  Arab.  (Vienna,  1824). 

Palmer,  E.  H. — Arabic  Grammar  (London,  1890). 

"         "    "    — Arabic  Manual  (London,  1890). 
Perowne,   J.    J.    S. — Adjrumiah,  translated   with   Arabic    voweled    text 
(Cambridge,  1852). 

Richardson — Arab.  Persian  English  Dictionary  (London,  1852). 
Richardson,  J.  A. — Gram,  of  Arabic  Language  (London,  1811). 
Rosenmiiller,  E.  F.  C. — Grammar  (Leipzig,  181 8). 

Sacy,  A.  J.  Sylvestre  de — An  Arabic  Grammar. 

"     "    "         "  "  — Arabic  Chrestomathy,  4  vols.  (Paris,  1829). 

Socin,  A. — Arabische  Grammatik  (Berlin,  1889). 
Steingass,  F. — Arab.-Eng.  and  Eng.-Arab.  Diet.  (London,  1890), 


426  APPENDIX  111 

Tien,  A. — Handbook  of  Arabic  (London,  1890). 

"     "  — Manual  of  Colloquial  Arab.  (London,  1890). 
Trumpp,  E. — Einleitung   in   das  Studium  der  Arabischen  Grammatiker 

(Munich,  1876). 
Tychsen,  O.  G. — Elementale  Arabicum  (1792). 

Van  Dyck,  C.  C.  A. — Suggestions  to  beginners  in  the  study  of  Arabic 

(Beirut,  1892). 
Vollers — .^gypto-Arab.  Sprache  (Cairo,  1890). 
Vriemoet,  E.  L. — Grammar  (Franeker,  1733). 

Wahrmund,  A. — Arab.  Deutsch  Handworter  buch,  2  vols.  (Giessen,  1887). 

„  "  — Handbuch  der  Arab.  Sprache  (Giessen,  1866). 

Winckler,  J.  L.   W. — Arab.    Sprachlehre  nebst  Worterbuch    (Leipzig, 

1862). 
Wright,  W. — Arabic  Reading  Book  (London,  1870). 


Index 


Abd-ul-Wahab,  192. 

Abdulla  bin  Rashid,  200. 

Abraha,  311. 

Abraham,  God's  promises  to,  401. 

Abyssinian  invasion  of  Arabia,  308. 

Accessibility  of  Arabia  (see  Open 

doors),  375. 
Adam,  Tradition  of  the  fall  of,  17. 
Aden,  53,  218,  335,  376. 

"      as  a  mission  centre,  338. 

"      Tribes  around,  230, 
Aflaj,  145. 

Aftan,  Wady,  22,  99. 
Allah  (see  God),  171. 
Alphabet,  Arabic,  242. 
Ali,  Ruins  at,  105. 
All's  footprint,  66. 
Amara,  1 32,  289,  364, 
American  Arabian  mission,  353. 

"        Rifles  in  Arabia,  66«,  139. 
Amulets  (see  charms),  283. 
Anaeze  tribe,  154. 
Animals  of  Arabia,  28. 
Arab  architecture,  272. 

"     characteristics,  261,  264, 

"     genealogies,  261. 

"     geographers,  25. 

"     The,  258. 
Arabia,  240. 

"       Area  of,  18. 

"       Boundaries  of,  18. 

••       Felix  (Yemen),  53,  307, 


Arabia  in  Moslem  tradition,  17. 
Arabian  field,  Problems  of  the,  374. 

"       history,  158. 

"       idolatry  (see  Idolatry),  36. 

«<       mission,  354. 

"  "       hymn,  358. 

Arabic  language,  238,  254. 
Arabs,  Classes  of,  260. 
"       Origin  of,  258. 
Architecture,  Arab,  272. 
Arts,  Arabian,  274. 
Ashera,  140. 
Asir,  The  Turks  in,  210. 
Athar,  Science  of,  278. 

Bagdad,  133,  321. 

"         mission,  327. 

"         Turkish  rule  in,  215. 

"         Vilayet,  126. 
Bahrein,  97,  no,  220,  363,  373. 

"        huts,  271. 
Barka,  84. 
Barny,  F.  J.,  366. 
Bartholomew,  St.,  Tradition  as  to, 

307- 
Batina  Coast,  83. 
Bayard  Taylor  (quoted),  121. 
Bedaa,  in. 
Bedouin,  Attacked  by,  60. 

"         dress,  272. 

"         life,  265. 

"         tribes,  68,  132,  154. 


427 


428 


INDEX 


Bedouin  tribes,  Mission  to,  328. 

"         warfare,  203,  364. 
Beit  Allah,  34,  35. 
Bent,  Theodore,  73. 
Bible,  Arabic,  256,  316. 

"      depot  in  Bagdad,  321. 

♦'      distribution  in  Arabia,  320, 

365.  377.  384,  388. 
Black  stone  of  Mecca,  31,  36. 
Blood  covenants,  166. 

"      revenge,  155,  265. 
Blunt,  Lady  Ann,  269. 
British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society, 

321. 
British  influence  in  Arabia,  218. 
Bruce,  Robert,  321. 
Buchanan,  Claudius,  314. 
Bunder,  Abbas,  235. 

"        Jissa,  84. 
Burckhardt  (quoted),  269. 
Burial  place  of  Mohammed,  47. 
Burns,  William,  320. 
Burton  (quoted),  282. 
Busrah,  124,  129,  361. 
"       mission,  365. 

Camel,  Land  of  the,  88. 

"  Use  and  character,  90. 
Cantine,  James,  353,  359,  360. 
Caravan  journey  from  Bagdad,  136. 

"        routes  of  Oman,  94. 
Carmathian  princes,  115. 
Castles  in  Hadramaut,  75. 
Cave-dwellers,  Gharah,  86. 
Certificate,  The  Mecca,  40. 
Charms  used  by  women  of  Mecca, 

42. 
Child  life  among  Arabs,  265. 
Christian  Church  in  Aden,  54. 
"  "        "  Arabia,  306. 

"        coins  used  as  amulets,  43. 


Christian  and  Missionary  Alliance, 

328. 
Christianity  in  Arabia,  159,  300. 
Christians,  Hatred  of,  30,  267. 

"  St.  John,  285. 

Christ's  Sonship,  The  Rock  of,  397. 
Church    Missionary    Society,   322, 

327.  344- 
Circumcision,  399. 
Climate  of  Arabia,  20,  378. 

"        "  Bahrein,  106, 

"        •'  Nejd,  147. 

"        "  Oman,  79,  80,  93, 
Cobb,  H.  N.  (quoted),  369, 
Cofi"ee  trade  in  Yemen,  70. 
Coins,  Carmathian,  115. 
Colportage  work  (see  Bible  Distri- 
bution), 384. 
Commerce,  English,  in  Arabia,  225. 
"  in  the  Nejd,  151. 

"  of  Busrah,  126. 

Consulates,  British,  231. 
Converts  from  Islam,  391. 
Cosmogony,  Sabean,  296. 
Covenants,  166. 

Cradle  of  the  Human  Race,  1 19. 
Ctesiphon,  Arch  of,  133. 
Cufic  characters,  243. 
Customhouse,  Turkish,  58. 
Customs,  Arab,  166, 

Da  Costa,  Isaac,  405. 
Damar,  66. 
Date  culture,  124. 

"    palm,  121. 
Dauasir,  Wady,  22,  145. 
Dedan,  97. 

Desert  dwellers  and  the  camel,  90. 
Deserts  of  Arabia,  24,  144. 
Difficulties    of   Arabian    missions, 

374- 


INDEX 


429 


Diseases  in  Arabia,  280,  378. 

Diwaniyeh,  139. 

Doughty  (quoted),  144,  268. 

Dress  of  the  Arabs,  58,  70,  272. 

Dromedary,  89. 

Dutch  Missionary  Society,  394. 

"      Reformed  Church,  353. 
Dwellings  of  Arabs,  271. 

East  India  Company,  221. 
Education  in  Mecca,  43, 

"        of  Arab  Children,  266, 
Educational  missions,  383. 
Elephants  in  warfare,  312, 
English   possessions  (see  British), 

27- 
English    supremacy    in   the    Gulf, 

222. 
Euphrates,  Journey  down  the,  136. 
Europeans  who  visited  Mecca,  ^m. 
Eustace,  M.,  361. 
Evangelistic  work  in  Arabia,  384. 
Eve,  Tomb  of,  17. 
Ezekiel,  54,  405. 
Ezra,  Tomb  of,  132. 

Family  life  in  Arabia,  265. 
Fanaticism,  Moslem,  379. 
Fao,  129. 

Fatima,  Shrine  of,  50, 
Fauna  of  Arabia,  28, 
Feasts,  Sabean,  298. 
Fetishism,  168. 
Feysul,  198, 

Fish  on  the  Oman  Coast,  82. 
Flora  of  Arabia,  28. 
Foods  of  Arabia,  273. 
Forder,  Mr.,  329. 
Frankincense,  86. 
Free     Church    of    Scotland,    320, 
334- 


French,    Bishop    Thomas    Valpy, 

330.  33 1 »  344- 
French  coaling  station,  234. 

Geology  of  Arabia,  21. 
Geographers,  Arab,  25, 
Gharah  tribe,  85. 
Glenny,  Edward  (quoted),  397. 
God,  The  Moslem's  idea  of,  171. 
God's  promises  for  Arabia,  395. 
Government  of  Bahrein,  108. 

"  "   Hassa,  117. 

"  "   Nejd,  150. 

Governments  in  Arabia,  26. 
Graves,  Anthony  N.,  320. 

Hadramaut,  18,  72. 

Hagar,  397,  405. 

Haig,  F.  T.,  322,  334,  359,  378. 

Hail,  151. 

Haj  Nasir,  Khan  of,  140. 

Hajarein,  Hadramaut,  74. 

Halevy,  Joseph,  73. 

Hanifs,  168. 

Harem  system,  161. 

Harpur,  Dr.  and  Mrs.,  322,  325. 

Harrat  (volcanic  tracts),  23. 

Hassa,  115,  117. 

"      The  Turks  in,  217. 
Haswa,  Khan  El,  137. 
Haura,  75. 
Hegira,  183. 

Hejaz,  Turkish  rule  in,  207. 
Hillah,  137. 

Himyarite  dynasty,  158,  307. 
Himyarites,  259. 
Himyaritic  inscriptions,  74,  244. 
History  of  Arabia,  158. 
Hodeidah,  53,  70. 

"         Bishop  French  at,  347. 
Hodgson,  327. 


430 


INDEX 


Hofhoof,  113. 

Honey,  282. 

Horses,  Arabian,  149. 

Hospital  at  Hofhoof,  1 16. 

Hospitality  of  Rashid,  200. 

"         «     the  Amir   of  Nejd, 

ISO- 
Hostility  to  Christianity,  386. 
Hurgronje  Snouck  (quoted),  270. 

Ibb,  Experience  at,  65. 

Ichthiophagoi,  82. 

Idolatry   in   Arabia,    36,    52,    166, 

284,  307. 
Idols  of  Arabia,  166. 
Ignorance  of  Arabia,  145. 
"  "    Meccans,  42. 

Ignorance,  Time  of,  158. 
Illiteracy,  42,  379. 
Immorality  in  Arabia,  40,  41. 
"  of  the  Koran,  186. 

India's  influence  on  Arabia,  109. 
Infanticide,  161. 
"Infidels,"  30,  31. 
Inscriptions  in  Yemen,  313. 
"  Himyaritic,  74. 

Interior  of  Arabia,  143,  377. 
Irak-Arabi,  120. 
Irrigation  in  Oman,  93. 
Ishmael,  35. 

"         Promises  to,  398. 
Ishmaelite  Arabs,  260. 
Islam,  169. 

"      Analysis  of,  177. 

"      Borrowed  elements  of,  1 78. 

"      God  of,  171. 

JAUF,  275. 

Jiddah,  17,  31,  32. 

Jebel  Shammar,  154. 

Jesus  Christ,  49,  297, 

Jews  in  Arabia,  63,  66,  159,  308. 


"  John  the  Baptist  Christians,"  297, 
Joktan,  404. 
Journey  in  Oman,  94. 

"       to  Hofhoof,  III. 

"        "  Sana,  56. 

"       up  the  Tigris,  131. 

Kaaba,  34,  35. 

"       Tradition  of  the,  17, 
Kaat-Culture,  63. 
Kamaran  Island,  33,  220. 
Kamil,  360,  361. 
Katar  Peninsula,  no. 
Katif,  118. 

Kedar,  Promises  concerning,  398. 
Keith  Falconer,  Ion,  250,  331. 

"  "        Mission,  343,  381. 

Kenaneh,  310. 
Kerak,  327. 
Kerbela,  138,  195. 
Khadijah,  181. 
Khans,  137, 

Koran,  186,  239,  242,  25 1, 
Koreish,  311,  312. 
Kuria-Muria  Islands,  86,  219, 
Kurna,  142. 
Kuweit,  128,  222. 

Lahaj,  338. 

Lane-Poole,  Stanley  (quoted),  253, 

Language  of  the  Arabs,  238,  249. 

"  Sabean,  288. 

Lansing,  Dr.,  321. 

J.  G.,  354. 
Law    among   Arabs   (see   Govern- 
ment), 265. 
Legend  as  to  creation  of  camel,  88. 
"       of  Nebi  Salih,  302. 
"       "   St.  Bartholomew,  307. 
Legends,  165. 
Lethaby,  William,  327. 
Literature  of  the  Arabs,  242,  25 1. 


INDEX 


431 


Love  among  Arabs,  265. 
Loll,  Raymond,  239,  314. 

Maadites,  259. 

Mackay's,  Alexander,  Appeal,  329. 

Makalla,  73,  376. 

Mandseans,  285. 

Mannfachires  of  Hassa,  115. 

Marriages  in  Arabia,  162,  268. 

««         of  Mohammed,  181, 182. 
'«         Temporary,  41. 
Martyn,  Henry,  314,  316, 
Martyn's,  Henry,  JoumaJ,  318. 
Mattra,  82. 
Mecca,  17,  30,  34. 

<»     Capture  of,  194, 

"     Certificate,  40. 

««     Turkish  Government  of,  208. 
Meccan  songs,  278. 
Medical  knowledge  of  Arabs,  280. 

"       mission  in  Aden,  Need  of  a, 

336. 
Medical  mission  in  Yemen,  325. 

"       missions,  361,  377. 
Medicine,  Arab,  281. 
Medina,  31,  45. 
Menakha,  69. 
Menamah,  99. 
Mesopotamia,  119,  216. 

"  Star-worshippers   of, 

285. 
Methods     of     mission     work    for 

Arabia,  383. 
Mildmay  Mission  to  the  jews,  363. 
Mina,  39. 

Miracles,  Moslem,  313. 
Mishkash,  42. 
Mission  at  Aden,  342. 

"       "  Muscat,  82,  349. 
Missionaries  needed.  The   kind  of, 
388. 


Missionary  force  in  Arabia,  380. 

"        problems  of  Arabia,  374. 
Missions  in  Arabia,  314. 
M  ah  rah  tribe,  85. 
Makamat,  253. 
Mohammed,  169,  170,  179,  298. 

"  All,  196. 

"  Arabia,  before,  158. 

Mohammed's  burial  place,  47. 
Mohammedan  intolerance,  30. 

"  problem,  374. 

Moharram,  140. 
Moses,  302. 

Moslem    attitude    toward    Christi- 
anity, 386. 
Moslem   world,  Condition   of  the, 

397- 
Moule,  A.  E.  (quoted),  351. 
Mounds  at  Ali,  106. 

"       in  the  River  Country,  121. 
Mountains  and  table-lands,  19,  20, 

22. 
Mufallis,  58. 
Muscat,  78,  363. 

Attack  on,  364. 
Bishop  French  at,  348. 
Capture  of,  203. 
Henry  Martyn  at,  319, 
Importance  of,  329. 
Music,  Arab,  274. 

Nasariya,  141. 

Nebaioth,  Promises  regai-ding,  398. 
Needs  of  Arabia,  381. 
Nefud  (Sandy  Desert),  20. 
Neibuhr,  M.,  17. 
Nejd,  20,  27,  146. 
Nejf,  138. 
Nejran,  145. 

New   Brunswick   Seminary   Band, 
353- 


432 


iNDEX 


Newspapers,  Arabic,  241. 
Nomad  population,  380, 
Nomads,  Arab,  264. 
North  Africa  Mission,  328. 

OjEIR,  III. 

Oman,  78,  221,  234. 

"      Interior  of,  92. 

"      Rulers  of,  202. 
Open  doors  in  Arabia,  324,  375. 
Opposition  to  missions,  362. 
Ottoman  (see  Turkish),  127. 
Outlook  for  missions,  391. 

Palgrave  (quoted),  19,  no,  153, 

172. 
Palmyrene  Kingdom,  304. 
Paradise,  Rivers  of,  22«. 
Paul  in  Arabia,  300. 
Pearl  fishing,  100. 
Pearl  Islands  of  the  Gulf,  97. 
Pearl  oyster,  lOO, 
Penmanship,  Arabic,  245, 
Pentecost,  Arabs  at,  300. 
Perim,  Island  of,  220. 
Persecution  of  Christians,  311,  379. 
Persia,  318. 
Persian  converts,  392. 

"      persecution    of     Christian 

Arabs,  305. 
Physicians,  Arab,  42,  280. 
Pilgrimages,  Early,  165. 

"  to  Mecca,  37,  184. 

Pilgrims,  Duties  of,  38. 

"         Nationality  of,  33. 
Pillars,  The  three,  39. 
Pirate  coast  of  Oman,  82. 
Poem,  "Hagar,"  405. 
Poems  on  vi^omen,  270. 
Poetry,  Arab,  163,  164,  254,  274. 
Poets,  Arabian,  46. 


Political  divisions  of  Arabia,  26, 
"        history  of  Bahrein,  107. 
Politics  in  Arabia,  Present,  233. 
Polyandry,  162. 
Polygamy,  162,  268,  298. 
Population  of  Arabia,  29. 

"  "   Bagdad,  134. 

"  "    Irak-Arabi,  1 26. 

Portuguese  at  Muscat,  81,  202. 

"  castle,  Katif,  118. 

Postal  systems  of  Arabia,  224. 
Post,  Geo.  E.  (quoted),  186, 
Poverty  of  the  Arabs,  157. 
Prayer,  Call  to,  326. 

"        for  Moslems,  315. 
Prayer-meeting  of  Star-worshippers, 

289. 
Prayers  of  pilgrims,  38. 

"       offered  at  Medina,  50. 
Preaching  in  Yerim,  66,  324. 

"         to  Moslems,  384. 
Priesthood,  Mandsean,  298. 
Problems  of  the  Arabian  field,  374. 
Prophet's  tomb  at  Medina,  47. 
Provinces  of  Arabia,  25. 
Ptolemy's  map  of  Arabia,  18. 

Railway,  Anglo-Egyptian,  226. 
Rashid,  Mohammed  bin,  200. 
Rastak,  79. 
Red  Sea  coast,  19. 
Reformation,  Wahabi,  192. 
Reformed  Church  in  America,  353. 
Religion  of  heathen  Arabs,  164. 

•«       "   the  Mahrah  tribe,  85. 

"        "    "    Sabeans,  288. 
Renan,  Ernest  (quoted),   239. 
Report  of  Keith  Falconer,  335. 
Results  of  missions  to  Moslems,  392. 
Rhenish  missionary  society,  394. 
Riad,  152,  201. 


INDEX 


433 


Riggs,  C.  E.,  361. 

River  country,  1 19,  382, 

Rivers  of  Arabia,  21. 

Roba'-el-Khali,  143. 

Robbers,  Bedouin,  155. 

Robbery  among  Arabs,  264. 

Robbery,  Turkish,  69. 

Roda,  68. 

Roman  empire  and  the  Arabs,  304. 

Ruins  at  Ali,  105. 

"      in  Hadramaut,  74. 
Ruma,  Wady,  22. 
Russian  influence,  235. 

"       interests  in  Arabia,  223. 

Sabeans,  285. 

Sabat,  317. 

Sacred  mosque  of  Mecca,  35. 

Sacrifice,  Sabean,  294. 

Sacrifices  in  Arabia,  39,  166. 

Said,  Seyid,  202. 

Sana,  56,  67,  212. 

"     Early  Christianity  in,  310. 

«'     Importance  of,  324,  360. 

"     inscription,  313. 
Baud,  194. 

School  for  African  slave-boys,  366. 
Schools  at  Medina,  51. 
"       in  Hassa,  117. 
"       of  Mecca,  43. 
Sciences,  Arabian,  274. 
Seba,  404. 

Semitic  languages,  240,  241. 
Semites,  240. 
Shatt-el-Arab,  120. 
Sheba,  403,  404. 
Shehr  and  its  ruler,  76. 
Sheikh  Othman,  56,  335,  336. 

"  "        mission,  342. 

Shibam,  75. 
Shiran,  Wady,  22. 


Shrines  of  Arabia,  165. 

Sib,  84. 

Sidra  Rabba,  294. 

Sin,  Koran  doctrine  of,  190, 

Sinaitic  Peninsula,  302,  375. 

Slave  school  at  Muscat,  366. 

"     trade,  85,  224. 
Smith,  Eli,  256,  316. 
Social  character  of  Arabs,  263. 
Socotra,  19,  219. 
Sohar,  84. 

Soldiers,  Turkish,  216. 
Songs,  Arabian,  275. 
Springs  of  fresh  water  in  the  Gulf, 

99- 

Star-worshippers  of   Mesopotamia, 

285. 
Steamship  service  to  Bagdad,  131. 
Stern,  Rev.  A.,  327. 
Stone,  Geo.  E.,  351,  366,  371. 
Suk-el-Shiukh,  141. 
Sultan  of  Turkey,  206. 
Sultans  of  Muscat,  79. 
Sumatra  missions,  393. 
Superstitions,  Arab,  165,  187,  283. 
Sur,  84. 

Sutton,  Henry  M,,  327. 
Sword  conquest  of  Islam,  184. 

Taif,  45. 
Taiz,  60,  62. 

Taxation,  Turkish,  69,  142,  215. 
Tenoof,  96. 

Tents,  Bedouin,  155,  271. 
Telegraph  system,  28,  223. 
Thoms,  S.  J.,  366. 
Theophilus,  307. 
Tigris-Euphrates  basin,  120. 
Torbat  manufacture,  138. 
Totemism  in  Arabia,  166. 
Toweelah  coin,  115. 


434 


INDEX 


Trade  (see  Commerce),  of  Bagdad, 

135- 

"      "  Bahrein,  105. 
"      "    Muscat,  82. 
Tradition  of  fall  of  Adam  and  Eve, 

17- 

Traditions,  Henry  Martyn's,  319. 
Treaties,     British,     with      Arabs, 

228. 
Tribal  marks,  166,  279,  281. 
Travellers  in  Yemen,  53. 
Turkish  Arabia,  376. 

"       misrule,    26,    27,   58,    71, 

127. 
Turkish  taxation,  113,  142. 
Turks  in  Arabia,  206. 

Unexplored  Arabia,  18. 
Unoccupied  territory,  382. 

Van  Dyck,  C.  V.  A.,  256,  316. 
Van  Tassel,  Samuel,  328. 
Veil,  Use  of  the,  161. 


Women   in    the   "Time    of   Igno- 
rance "  160. 
Women,  Mohammed  and,  183. 

"        of  Mecca,  40. 

"         "  Yemen,  58,  70. 

"        Sabean,  287. 
Wood  carving  in  Hadramaut,  75. 
Worrall,  H.  R.  L.,  364. 
Wrede,  Adolph  von,  72. 
Writing  as  a  fine  art,  246. 

"       Early  Semitic,  242. 

"  "     use  of,  163. 

"       Mandaitic,  287. 
Wyckoff,  James  T.,  363. 

Yakoob,  361. 
Yanbo,  51,  196. 
Yemen,  53,  57,  62,  234. 

"       as  a  mission  field,  323. 

"       Turks  in,  31 1. 
Yemenites,  259. 
Yenm,  65. 
Young,  J.  C,  343. 


Wadys,  21. 

Wahabis,  83,  19I. 

Wahat,  57. 

Warfare,  Arab,  203. 

Wasms,  166,  281. 

Water  courses  of  Oman,  93. 

Weapons,  Arab,  267. 

Wellhausen  (quoted),  167. 

Wellsted's   travels   in   Arabia,  92, 

93- 
Wilson,  John,  320. 
Woman's  dress  in  Arabia,  272. 

"        work  for      "        365, 383. 
Women,  Arab,  268. 
"        Bedouin,  156. 


Zemzem,  Well  of,  34,  36. 

Zenobia,  304. 

Zobeir,  128. 

Zwemer,  Peter  J.,  362,  367. 

Zwemer's,  P.  J.,  journey  in  Oman, 

94. 
Zwemer,  S.  M.,  354,  359. 
Zwemer's,  S.  M.,  journey  down  the 

Euphrates,  136. 
Zwemer's,  S.  M.,  journey  to  Hof- 

hoof,  III. 
Zwemer's,  S.  M.,  journey  to  Sana, 

56. 
Zwemer's,   S.   M.,  journey  up  the 
Tigris,  131.     ^ 


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